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Dendrelaphis formosus

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Dendrelaphis formosus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Ahaetuliinae
Genus: Dendrelaphis
Species:
D. formosus
Binomial name
Dendrelaphis formosus
(Boie, 1827)
Synonyms

Dendrophis formosa Boie, 1827

Dendrelaphis formosus, commonly known as either the elegant bronzeback or beautiful bronzeback tree snake, is a snake species in the family Colubridae from Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy

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Dendrelaphis formosus belongs to the genus Dendrelaphis, which contains 48 other described species.[2]

Dendrelaphis is one of five genera belonging to the vine snake subfamily Ahaetuliinae, of which Dendrelaphis is most closely related to Chrysopelea, as shown in the cladogram below:[3]

Ahaetuliinae

Distribution and habitat

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Beautiful bronzeback tree snake in Gunung Mulu National Park

The beautiful bronzeback tree snake is native to southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia to the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java. It inhabits lowland forests up to elevations of 600 m (2,000 ft).[1]

Behavior

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The snake is diurnal and fully arboreal, and has oviparous reproduction.[4] It mainly feeds on lizards, but occasionally also frogs.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Vogel, G.; Dehling, M. (2013). "Dendrelaphis formosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T192161A44271408. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T192161A44271408.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Genus Dendrelaphis at The Reptile Database.
  3. ^ Mallik, Ashok Kumar; Achyuthan, N. Srikanthan; Ganesh, Sumaithangi R.; Pal, Saunak P.; Vijayakumar, S. P.; Shanker, Kartik (27 July 2019). "Discovery of a deeply divergent new lineage of vine snake (Colubridae: Ahaetuliinae: Proahaetulla gen. nov.) from the southern Western Ghats of Peninsular India with a revised key for Ahaetuliinae". PLOS ONE. 14 (7): e0218851. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1418851M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0218851. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6636718. PMID 31314800.
  4. ^ Species Dendrelaphis formosus at The Reptile Database