Corallus ruschenbergerii
| Corallus ruschenbergerii | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Boidae |
| Subfamily: | Boinae |
| Genus: | Corallus |
| Species: | C. ruschenbergerii |
| Binomial name | |
| Corallus ruschenbergerii (Cope, 1875) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
- Common names: Central American tree boa, common tree boa, Trinidad tree boa.
Corallus ruschenbergerii is a nonvenomous boa species endemic to lower Central America and northern South America. No subspecies are currently recognized.[2]
Etymology
The specific name, ruschenbergerii, is in honor of William Ruschenberger, who was a United States Navy surgeon.[3]
Description
Corallus ruschenbergerii is one of the largest members of the genus Corallus with adults reaching up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in total length (including tail). The colors are typically shades of yellow, brown or gray, although populations on Trinidad and Tobago are often a patternless pure bronze.[4]
Geographic range
C. ruschenbergerii is found in Lower Central America in southwestern Costa Rica (south of 10° N) and Panama, including Isla del Rey, Isla Contadora, Isla de Cébaco and Isla Suscantupu. In South America it occurs in Colombia east of the Andes, north of the Cordillera Central and north of the Cordillera Oriental, northern Venezuela north of the Cordillera de Mérida and in the drainage of the Río Orinoco, north and west of the Guiana Shield, east of the Orinoco Delta. It is also found on Isla Margarita, Trinidad and Tobago. The type locality given is "Panama".[1]
Feeding
The primary diet of C. ruschenbergerii consists of rodents and other small mammals, as well as birds and bats.[4]
Captivity
Still fairly rare in captivity, C. ruschenbergerii is only recently becoming more common in the United States.[4]
See also
- List of boine species and subspecies
- Boinae by common name
- Boinae by taxonomic synonyms
References
- 1 2 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- ↑ "Corallus ruschenbergerii ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
- ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Corallus ruschenbergerii, p. 229).
- 1 2 3 Stafford PJ, Henderson RW (1996). Kaleidoscopic Tree Boas: The Genus Corallus of Tropical America. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 120 pp. ISBN 0-89464-975-2.
Further reading
- Cope ED (1875). "On the Batrachia and Reptilia of Costa Rica". J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Second Series 8: 93-154. (Xiphosoma ruschenbergerii, new species, p. 129).
- Henderson RW (1997). "A Taxonomic Review of the Corallus hortulanus Complex of Neotropical Tree Boas". Caribbean J. Sci. 33 (3-4): 198-221.
External links
- Corallus ruschenbergerii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 14 July 2008.