Western Mangrove Cat Snake
Boiga melanota
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassSquamata
- FamilyColubridae (Colubrid Snakes)
- GenusBoiga (Australasian Cat Snakes)
- SpeciesBoiga melanota (Western Mangrove Cat Snake)
About the Western Mangrove Cat Snake
Boiga melanota, the western mangrove cat snake, is one of the biggest cat snake species in Asia. It is found in Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia (Sumatra). It is shiny bluish black in colour, marked with 40-50 yellow stripes. The mouth and throat area are yellow, whereas the ventral part of the body is yellowish black. The eyes are greyish in colour. It is categorised as a mildly venomous snake.
An adult mangrove snake can reach a length of 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in). It is active at night (nocturnal) and hunts for birds, rats and birds eggs as its main diet. Its large head and mouth enables it to swallows its prey easily.
Recently reclassed from within the Dendrophila family, they share some physical traits such as similar colouring and being rear-fanged. Species Boiga melanota at The Reptile Database Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Gunung Leuser National Park
Black-headed Cat Snake
Boiga nigriceps
White-spotted Cat Snake
Boiga drapiezii
Dog-toothed Cat Snake
Boiga cynodon
Common Bronze-back
Dendrelaphis pictus
Gray Bronzeback
Dendrelaphis caudolineatus
Oriental Whipsnake
Ahaetulla prasina
Black Copper Rat Snake
Coelognathus flavolineatus
Paradise Flying Snake
Chrysopelea paradisi
Triangle Keelback
Xenochrophis trianguligerus
Banded Flying Snake
Chrysopelea pelias
Specklebelly Keelback
Rhabdophis chrysargos
Red-tailed Green Ratsnake
Gonyosoma oxycephalum
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 2 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Western Mangrove Cat Snake in Gunung Leuser National Park?
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Western Mangrove Cat Snake sighting in Gunung Leuser National Park, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Western Mangrove Cat Snake in Gunung Leuser National Park?
August has the highest sighting rate for Western Mangrove Cat Snake in Gunung Leuser National Park in our monthly data.