Boa (genus)

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Boa
Boa constrictor, B. constrictor
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Boidae
Subfamily: Boinae
Genus: Boa
Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
  • Boa - Linnaeus, 1758
  • Constrictor - Laurenti, 1768
  • Pelophilus - A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844
  • Sanzinia - Gray, 1849
  • Acrantophis - Jan In Jan & Sordelli, 1860[1]
Common names: boas,[2] boa constrictors.[3]

Boa is a genus of non-venomous boas found in Mexico, Central and South America, Madagascar and on Reunion Island. Four species are currently recognized.[2]

The largest extant member of this group, B. constrictor, has been reported to grow to a maximum of 14 feet (4.3 m) in length.[4]

Geographic range

Found in Mexico, Central America, South America, Madagascar and on Reunion Island.[1]

Species

Species[2] Taxon author[2] Subsp.*[2] Common name Geographic range[1]
B. constrictorT Linnaeus, 1758 9 Boa constrictor[2] Northern Mexico through Central America (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama) to South America north of 35°S (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Argentina. Also in the Lesser Antilles (Dominica and St. Lucia), on San Andrés, Providencia and many other islands along the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America.
B. dumerili (Jan In Jan & Sordelli, 1860) 0 Duméril's boa Madagascar and Reunion Island.
B. madagascariensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1844) 0 Madagascar ground boa Madagascar.
B. manditra Kluge, 1991 0 Madagascar tree boa Madagascar.

*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
T) Type species.[1]

Taxonomy

Kluge (1991) moved the genera Sanzinia and Acrantophis into Boa, based on a phylogeny derived from morphological characters.[5]

However, it was later found that the Malagasy boids and Boa constrictor do not form a monophyletic group, so that the lumping of Sanzinia, Acrantophis and Boa were probably in error, and most recent authors have reverted to the use of Sanzinia and Acrantophis as the genus name for the Malagasy boas.[6][7]

To add further to the naming confusion, many species of snake in the family Boidae are known as "boas" and all are constrictors. Also, more than a few subspecies of B. constrictor are recognized, several of which have distinct common names.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Boa". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 July 2008. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Noonan BP, Chippindale PT. 2006. Dispersal and vicariance: The complex evolutionary history of boid snakes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 40, 347-358. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.03.010
  4. ↑ Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
  5. ↑ Kluge AG. 1991. Boine Snake Phylogeny and Research Cycles. Misc. Pub. Museum of Zoology, Univ. of Michigan No. 178. 58 pp.
  6. ↑ Vences, M., Glaw, F., Kosuch, J., Boehme, W., Veith, M. (2001) Phylogeny of South American and Malagasy boine snakes: Molecular evidence for the validity of Sanzinia and Acrantophis and biogeographic implications. Copeia 2001, 1151-1154
  7. ↑ Noonan, B.O., Chippindale, P.T. (2006) Dispersal and vicariance: the complex history of boid snakes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 40, 347-358.

Further reading

  • Kluge AG. 1991. Boine Snake Phylogeny and Research Cycles. Misc. Pub. Museum of Zoology, Univ. of Michigan No. 178. 58 pp. PDF at University of Michigan Library. Accessed 11 July 2008.
  • Vences M, Glaw F, Kosuch J, Böhme W, Veith M. 2001. Phylogeny of South American and Malagasy Boine Snakes: Molecular Evidence for the Validity of Sanzinia and Acrantophis and Biogeographic Implications. Copeia No 4. p. 1151-1154. PDF at Miguel Vences. Accessed 29 August 2008.
  • Vences M, Glaw F. 2003. Phylogeography, systematics and conservation status of boid snakes from Madagascar (Sanzinia and Acrantophis). Salamandra, Reinbach, 39(3/4): p. 181-206. PDF at Miguel Vences. Accessed 29 August 2008.

External links

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