Boiga gokool (Gray, 1835)

Mohalik, Rakesh Kumar, Mohapatra, Pratyush P., Mardaraj, Prakash, Sahoo, Santibhusan, Bhilala, Ashok Kumar, Kar, Niladri B. & Dutta, Sushil K., 2020, First record of Boiga gokool (Gray, 1835) (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae) from Northern Odisha with notes on morphology and natural history, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 120 (2), pp. 189-192 : 190-191

Boiga gokool (Gray, 1835) ( Figure 1-4 )

Material examined: ZSI-CZRC- V-6868, 1 ex.: Male, India, Odisha, Balasore, Dagara (21°16’18.0”N, 87°6’57.0”E), Altitude 7 m asl, 12-VII-2018, Rakesh K. Mohalik .

Diagnostic characters: Snout to vent length: 610 mm; tail length 155 mm; 223 ventral scales; 99 divided subcaudals; 8 supralabials on both sides, of which 3rd to 5th touching eye; 11 infralabials, first chin shield touches 1st to 4th infralabials; nasal scale divided; a single loreal present between preocular and nasal scales; preocular one, does not reach up to dorsal surface of the head; 3 post oculars on right and 2 on left side, temporals 2+3; anal scale divided. Examining the diagnostic morphological characters such as 21 scale rows at mid body and the color pattern, the snake was identified as Boiga gokool .

Scale reduction points of male Boiga gokool (ZSI- CZRC-V-6868)

The dorsal scale reduction formula for the species provided by Das e t al. (2010) originating from the specimen ( ZMB

4859, female) shows some characteristic differences in point of reduction and can be attributed to the sex of the species. In this male specimen the reduction of dorsal scale rows from 21 to 19 appears 8 ventral anterior than the female specimen and the reduction from 19 to 17 appears 10 ventral anterior than the female. Additionally near the vent further reduction from 17 to 15 dorsal rows was observed in this male specimen.

Figures

Figure 1. Boiga gokool (live) from Dagara, Balasore, Odisha, India with the prey in the abdomen.

Figure 2. Portrait of Boiga gokool from Dagara.

Figure 3. Lateral view of head of live specimen of B. gokool from Dagara, Balasore, Odisha.

Figure 4. Dorsal view of head of live specimen of B. gokool from Dagara, Balasore, Odisha.