| Charina | |
|---|---|
| Rubber boa, C. bottae | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Boidae |
| Subfamily: | Erycinae |
| Genus: | Charina Gray, 1849 |
| Synonyms | |
Charina is a genus of nonvenomous boas found in North America and Africa. Four species are currently recognized.[2]
Contents |
Found in North America from southwestern Canada south through the western United States into northwestern Mexico. Also found in west and central Africa from Liberia and Sierra Leone to Cameroon (including Bioko Island), the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the DRC, it is found almost as far east as Lake Kivu.[1]
| Species[2] | Taxon author[2] | Subsp.*[2] | Common name[2] | Geographic range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C. bottaeT | (Blainville, 1835) | 0 | Rubber boa | Southwestern Canada in southeastern British Columbia. The northwestern and western United States in most of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana and Wyoming, northern and central Utah, and as far south as northern Nevada and Monterey County, California.[1][3] |
| C. reinhardtii | (Schlegel, 1848) | 0 | Calabar ground boa[4] | West and central Africa from Liberia and Sierra Leone to Cameroon (including Bioko Island), the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the DRC, it is found almost as far east as Lake Kivu.[1] |
| C. trivirgata | (Cope, 1861) | 2 | Rosy boa | The United States in southern California and southwestern Arizona. Mexico in the Baja California peninsula and in western Sonora.[1] |
| C. umbratica | Klauber, 1943 | 0 | Southern rubber boa | The United States in southern California (Riverside and San Bernardino counties).[3] |
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
T) Type species.[1]
Sources vary on how many species the genus contains. Some consider the rubber boa, C. bottae, to be the sole member of the genus, although recent research has included the rosy boa, C. (Lichanura) trivirgata. In addition, some experts consider the southern rubber boa, C. umbratica to be a subspecies of C. bottae. The strangest inclusion, however, must be that of the Calabar python, C. (Calabaria) reinhardtii, which is found half way around the world from the others.