Boiga

a genus of reptiles of the grass snake family. The Boiga is as long as 1.5 m and sometimes 2 m. There are about 30 species. The majority are distributed in southern Asia and Indonesia, and a few species are found in tropical Africa and Australia. The Boiga inhabits trees and shrubs, and more rarely, the ground (in open places); it has even penetrated the desert. It is extremely mobile and cunning and often bites. The Boiga’s bite is relatively harmless to humans because its grooved, poisonous fangs are located deep inside its mouth, and the poison usually does not enter the wound at the time of the bite. If it does, it causes only temporary painful symptoms. The Boiga is nocturnal. It feeds on lizards and small birds and animals. All Boigas are oviparous. The Indian Boiga (B. trigonatum) is the best known. It is yellowish brown with light, narrow spots along the spine. B. trigonatum is found in Ceylon, India, Pakistan, and eastern Iran; in the USSR, it is found in the Turkmen SSR and the Tadzhik SSR.