Dendrelaphis
Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox
Dendrelaphis is a genus of snakes in the subfamily Ahaetuliinae of the family Colubridae. Species of the genus Dendrelaphis are distributed from Pakistan, India and southern China to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, the Philippines, Australia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. There are over 50 described species. Asian species are known commonly as bronzebacks, while the Australo-Papuan species are simply called tree snakes. All are non-venomous and entirely harmless to humans.
Taxonomy
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:[1] Template:Clade
Species
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 synonymizing 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]
- Dendrelaphis andamanensis (Anderson, 1871)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Andaman bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis anthracina Kraus, 2025Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[4]
- Dendrelaphis ashoki G. Vogel & van Rooijen, 2011Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Ashok's bronzeback tree snake[5]
- Dendrelaphis atra Kraus, 2025Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[4]
- Dendrelaphis bifrenalis (Boulenger, 1890)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Boulenger's bronzeback – southern India and Sri Lanka[6]
- Dendrelaphis biloreatus (Wall, 1908)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Gore's bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis binhi (S. Nguyen, V. Nguyen, Le, L. Nguyen, T. Vo, B. Vo, Che & Murphy, 2023)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Binh's bronzeback[7]
- Dendrelaphis calligaster (Günther, 1867)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – northern treesnake, green treesnake, coconut treesnake
- Dendrelaphis caudolineatus (Gray, 1834)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – striped bronzeback, grey bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis caudolineolatus (Günther, 1869)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Gunther's bronzeback tree snake
- Dendrelaphis chairecacos (F. Boie, 1827)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Dendrelaphis cyanochloris (Wall, 1921)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – blue bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis effrenis (F. Werner, 1909)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Sinharaja tree snake
- Dendrelaphis flavescens Gaulke, 1994Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Sulu bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis formosus (F. Boie, 1827)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – elegant bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis fuliginosus (Griffin, 1909)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Philippine lamp-black tree snake
- Dendrelaphis gastrostictus (Boulenger, 1894)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – montane treesnake
- Dendrelaphis girii G. Vogel & van Rooijen, 2011Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Giri's bronzeback[5]
- Dendrelaphis grandoculis (Boulenger, 1890)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – large-eyed bronzeback, southern bronzeback[6]
- Dendrelaphis grismeri G. Vogel & van Rooijen, 2008Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Dendrelaphis haasi van Rooijen & G. Vogel, 2008Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Haas's bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis hollinrakei Lazell, 2002Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[8]
- Dendrelaphis humayuni Tiwari & Biswas, 1973Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Nicobar bronzeback, Tiwari's bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis inornatus (Boulenger, 1897)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Lesser Sunda bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis keiensis (Mertens, 1926)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Kei treesnake
- Dendrelaphis kopsteini G. Vogel & van Rooijen, 2007Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Kopstein's bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis levitoni van Rooijen & G. Vogel, 2012Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Leviton's bronzeback tree snake
- Dendrelaphis lineolatus (Jacquinot & Guichenot, 1853)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Dendrelaphis lorentzii (van Lidth de Jeude, 1911)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Lorentz River treesnake
- Dendrelaphis luzonensis Leviton, 1961Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Luzon bronzeback treesnake
- Dendrelaphis macrops (Günther, 1877)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Dendrelaphis marenae G. Vogel & van Rooijen, 2008Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Maren's bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis melanarkys Kraus, 2025Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[4]
- Dendrelaphis modestus (Boulenger, 1894)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – grey bronzeback, striped bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis ngansonensis (Bourret, 1935)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Nganson bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis nigroserratus G. Vogel, van Rooijen & Hauser, 2012Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – sawtooth-necked bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis oliveri (Taylor, 1950)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Oliver's bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis papuensis (Boulenger, 1895)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Papuan treesnake
- Dendrelaphis philippinensis (Günther, 1879)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Philippine bronzeback treesnake
- Dendrelaphis pictus (Gmelin, 1789)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – painted bronzeback, common bronzeback, Indonesian bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis proarchos (Wall, 1909)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Dendrelaphis punctulatus (Gray, 1827)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – common treesnake, Australian treesnake, green tree snake
- Dendrelaphis schokari (Kuhl, 1820)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Schokar's bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis striatus (Cohn, 1905)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – striped bronzeback, striated bronzeback treesnake
- Dendrelaphis striolatus (W. Peters, 1867)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Dendrelaphis subocularis (Boulenger, 1888)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – mountain bronzeback, Burmese bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis terrificus (W. Peters, 1872)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – terrific bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis thasuni (Atthanagoda et al., 2025)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[9][10]
- Dendrelaphis tristis (Daudin, 1803)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – common bronzeback, Daudin's bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis underwoodi van Rooijen & G. Vogel, 2008Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Underwood's bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis vogeli Jiang, Guo, Ren & Li, 2020Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Vogel's bronzeback
- Dendrelaphis walli G. Vogel & van Rooijen, 2011Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[11]
- Dendrelaphis wickrorum Danushka et al., 2020Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Wickramasinghes' bronzeback
Description
Bronzebacks range in total length (including tail) from Template:Convert to up to Template:Convert. 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.
References
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).
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- 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).
External links
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- ↑ Atthanagoda, Anusha, et al. (2025). A new species of Dendrelaphis Boulenger, 1890 (Reptilia: Colubridae) from an isolated misty mountain in the South Eastern intermediate zone of Sri Lanka. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 19 (1): 28–47 (e340).
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".