Brown tree snake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||
| Boiga irregularis (Merrem, 1802) |
The brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) is an arboreal colubrid snake native to eastern and northern coastal Australia, Papua New Guinea, and a large number of islands in northwestern Melanesia.
[edit] Behaviour
The brown tree snake is a nocturnal snake that is very aggressive when confronted. Due to the availability of prey and lack of predators in introduced habitats such as Guam, they have been known to grow to the size of that of a small python. The venom appears to be neurotoxic and possibly necrotic with localised effects and extreme swelling but there is no confirmation of this and no fatalities. Its rate of reproduction is slow in comparison to some other snakes. It produced between 3 and 11 eggs. the longest recorded length of this species is 2.00 metres. It is a rear fanged colubrid and due to the placement of the fangs the venom may be more potent that expected but only given in small doses.
[edit] Spread
The brown tree snake was a stowaway on US military transport at the end of World War II. The slightly venomous, but rather harmless, snake came north to Guam and killed almost the entire native bird population on the previously snake-free island. This snake has few predators on the island, although these do include pigs and monitor lizards; nowadays, Guam is one of the areas with the highest snake density in the world (an estimated 2,000 snakes/km²). Even so, this nocturnal tree snake is rarely seen by residents. They curl up and hide during the day, and move about on trees and fences at night.
At least eight brown tree snakes have been found in the Hawaiian islands since 1981. Because they can cause the same amount of harm to Hawaii as they have done to Guam, the State of Hawaii makes concerted efforts to inform the public about the snakes, particularly at Honolulu International Airport.
[edit] Synopsis
Shortly after World War II, and before 1952, the brown Treesnake was accidentally transported from its native range in the South Pacific to Guam, probably as a stowaway in ship cargo. As a result of abnormally abundant prey resources on Guam and the absence of natural predators and other population controls, brown Treesnake populations reached unprecedented numbers. Snakes caused the extirpation of most of the native forest vertebrate species; thousands of power outages affecting private, commercial, and military activities; widespread loss of domestic birds and pets; and considerable emotional trauma to residents and visitors alike when snakes invaded human habitats with the potential for severe envenomation of small children. Since Guam is a major transportation hub in the Pacific, numerous opportunities exist for the brown Treesnakes on Guam to be introduced accidentally to other Pacific islands as passive stowaways in ship and air traffic from Guam. Numerous sightings of this species have been reported on other islands, and an incipient population is probably established on Saipan. It is important that people who may come in contact with the brown Treesnake, particularly on neighboring islands and other high-risk sites, understand the scope of this problem and how to identify the snake so they can be destroyed.
This resource has been developed to provide source materials on the history of the invasion, continuing threats, research results, and containment and management of the brown Treesnake (Boiga irregularis) in Guam and its relevance to other islands and mild continental environments This snake has been classified as a pest so they have the choice to kill it or release it, but due to its actions, the chamorros kill the snake.
 |
This snake article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
