Boa | |
---|---|
Boa constrictor, B. constrictor | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Boidae |
Subfamily: | Boinae |
Genus: |
Boa Linnaeus, 1758 |
Type species | |
Boa constrictor
Linnaeus, 1758
|
Boa is a genus of boas found in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Five extant species, and one extinct, are currently recognized. [1]
The Online Etymology Dictionary says that the word comes from the "late 14c., "large snake," from Latin boa, type of large serpent mentioned in Pliny's "Natural History;" origin unknown (in medieval folk etymology the name was associated with Greek bous "ox")." [2]
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Subspecies | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|---|
Boa constrictor | Boa constrictor or red-tailed boa | 3 | South America (except Chile and a small part of the northwest) | |
Boa imperator | Central American boa, northern boa or Colombian boa | 1 | Mexico, Central America and a small part of northwestern South America | |
Boa nebulosa | Dominican boa [3] | 0 | Dominica | |
Boa orophias | St. Lucia boa or San Lucia boa [4] | 0 | Saint Lucia | |
Boa sigma | Mexican west coast boa | 0 | western Mexico | |
Boa blanchardensis † | Marie-Galante boa | 0 | Marie-Galante ( extinct) |
Boa species are found in 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). One species is present in the Lesser Antilles ( Dominica and St. Lucia), on San Andrés, Providencia and many other islands along the Caribbean coasts of Mexico and Central and South America. [5]
Kluge (1991) moved the genera Sanzinia and Acrantophis into Boa, based on a phylogeny derived from morphological characters. [6] However, it has since been shown that the Malagasy boids and Boa constrictor do not form a monophyletic group, and the lumping of Sanzinia, Acrantophis and Boa was, therefore, an error. These snakes are therefore correctly represented in their own genera: Sanzinia and Acrantophis. [7] [8] [9]
To add further to the naming confusion, many species of snake in the family Boidae are known colloquially as "boas". Also, four subspecies of B. constrictor are recognized, each with a distinct common name. [7]
Boa | |
---|---|
Boa constrictor, B. constrictor | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Boidae |
Subfamily: | Boinae |
Genus: |
Boa Linnaeus, 1758 |
Type species | |
Boa constrictor
Linnaeus, 1758
|
Boa is a genus of boas found in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Five extant species, and one extinct, are currently recognized. [1]
The Online Etymology Dictionary says that the word comes from the "late 14c., "large snake," from Latin boa, type of large serpent mentioned in Pliny's "Natural History;" origin unknown (in medieval folk etymology the name was associated with Greek bous "ox")." [2]
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Subspecies | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|---|
Boa constrictor | Boa constrictor or red-tailed boa | 3 | South America (except Chile and a small part of the northwest) | |
Boa imperator | Central American boa, northern boa or Colombian boa | 1 | Mexico, Central America and a small part of northwestern South America | |
Boa nebulosa | Dominican boa [3] | 0 | Dominica | |
Boa orophias | St. Lucia boa or San Lucia boa [4] | 0 | Saint Lucia | |
Boa sigma | Mexican west coast boa | 0 | western Mexico | |
Boa blanchardensis † | Marie-Galante boa | 0 | Marie-Galante ( extinct) |
Boa species are found in 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). One species is present in the Lesser Antilles ( Dominica and St. Lucia), on San Andrés, Providencia and many other islands along the Caribbean coasts of Mexico and Central and South America. [5]
Kluge (1991) moved the genera Sanzinia and Acrantophis into Boa, based on a phylogeny derived from morphological characters. [6] However, it has since been shown that the Malagasy boids and Boa constrictor do not form a monophyletic group, and the lumping of Sanzinia, Acrantophis and Boa was, therefore, an error. These snakes are therefore correctly represented in their own genera: Sanzinia and Acrantophis. [7] [8] [9]
To add further to the naming confusion, many species of snake in the family Boidae are known colloquially as "boas". Also, four subspecies of B. constrictor are recognized, each with a distinct common name. [7]