Dendrelaphis is one of five genera belonging to the vine snake subfamilyAhaetuliinae, of which Dendrelaphis is most closely related to Chrysopelea, as shown in the cladogram below:[1]
This list is based on the latest checklist of snakes in the world[2] and recent revisions and descriptions published in the scientific literature.
The authors of a 2015 revision of the Australo-Papuan Dendrelaphis species recommended the synonymy of D. solomonis within D. calligaster, the elevation of D. keiensis to species status, the resurrection of D. lineolatus from within D. calligaster, and the resurrection of D. macrops and elevation of D. striolatus from within D. punctulatus. They also confined D. punctulatus to Australia and D. papuensis to the Trobriand Islands of Papua New Guinea.[3]
Bronzebacks range in total length (including tail) from 2 feet (0.61 m) to up to 6 feet (1.8 m). All species have a slender body with a long tail. Males are shorter in length and brighter in coloration; they also tend to be more active. Females are stouter with duller or darker colorations and are less active. Typical coloration includes red, brown, or orange on the head with bronze, brown, or olive-green running down the length of the back. The underside of the body is usually bright to pale green or yellow. They have big eyes and bright red tongues. The tail is fully prehensile.
Diet
The primary prey of Dendrelaphis species consists of lizards and frogs, but the larger species are capable of taking birds, bats, and small rodents.
^van Rooijen, J.; Vogel, G.; Somaweera, R. (2015). "A revised taxonomy of the Australo-Papuan species of the colubrid genus Dendrelaphis (Serpentes: Colubridae)". Salamandra. 51 (1): 33–56.
^ abVogel, G.; Van Rooijen, J. (2011). "Contributions to a review of the Dendrelaphis pictus (Gmelin, 1789) complex (Serpentes: Colubridae) – 3. The Indian forms, with the description of a new species from the Western Ghats". Journal of Herpetology. 45 (1): 100–110. doi:10.1670/09-035.1. S2CID85867473.
^ abBoulenger, G.A. (1890). "Genus Dendrophis". Reptilia and Batrachia: The Fauna of British India Including Ceylon and Burma. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 337–339.
^Lazell, J.D. (2002). "The herpetofauna of Shek Kwu Chau, South Chinese Sea, with descriptions of two new colubrid snakes". Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society. 25: 1–82.
^Vogel, G.; Van Rooijen, J. (2011). "Description of a new species of the genus Dendrelaphis Boulenger, 1890 from Myanmar (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae)". Bonn Zoological Bulletin. 60 (1): 17–24.
Further reading
Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Genus Dendrelaphis, p. 87, Figure 7).
Gow GF (1983). Snakes of Australia, Completely Revised Edition. Sydney: HarperCollins Australia. 128 pp. ISBN0-207-14437-0.
Wall F (1921). Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon. Colombo, Ceylon [Sri Lanka]: Colombo Museum. (H.R. Cottle, Government Printer). xxii + 581 pp. (Genus Dendrelaphis, pp. 220–221).
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