#boa constrictor

Esco the Boa constrictor with plumeria

A memorial commission for Ozzie. ♡

starrypaige.carrd.co

crispysnakes:

crispysnakes:

Diem Marie - The Boa Gene Project

Forgot I made this, don’t think I’ve posted it here.

This is all relevant for now, but Boa constrictor imperator is actually Boa imperator now and other reclassification are going to occur over the next decade or so. It’ll probably be a slow transition to the industry accepting the reclassifications.

Boa Constrictor Sub-Species

A listing of the sub-species belonging to the Boa Genus; scientific name and abbreviation is given along with accepted regional and “common” names.

Boa constrictor melanogaster does not appear on this list because it was reclassified as Boa constrictor constrictor.

Boa constrictor constrictor (BCC)–

Surinamese 

Venezuelan
    1.Apure
    2.Bolivar

Brazilian

Belem

Peruvian
    1.Iquitos
    2.Pucallpa

Trinidad

Colombian

Boa constrictor imperator (BCI)–

Colombian
    1.Barranquilla

Honduran
    1.Hog Island
    2.Roatan (Firebelly)

Mexican
    1.Tarahumara Mountains
    2.Sonoran
    3.Tamaulipas
    4.Cancun

Belize
    1.Crawl Cay
    2.Caulker Cay

Nicaraguan
    1.Corn Island

Costa Rican

Panamanian

Ecuadorian

El Salvadorian

Venezuelan
    1.Paraguayan Peninsula Boa

Boa constrictor longicauda (BCL)–

Peruvian
    1.Peruvian Long Tail Boa (Tumbes Boa)

Boa constrictor occidentalis (BCO)–

Argentina
    1.Argentine Boa

Boa constrictor orophias (BCO)–

Island St. Lucia
    1.St. Lucia’s Boa

Boaconstrictor ortonii (BCO)–

Peruvian
    1.Macanche Boa

Boa constrictor nebulosa (BCN)–

Island Dominica
    1. Clouded Boa

Boa constrictor sabogae (BCS)–

Panamanian
    1.Pearl Island Boa

Boa constrictor amarali (BCA) –

Brazilian
    1.Sao Paulo

Bolivian
    1.Short Tail Boas

Again, because it’s relevant.

‘Columbian Red Tail’ is a misnomer. ‘Red Tail’ was coined as a sales buzzword early in the herp hobby’s history and was used to sell BI & BCC (and anything else that looked remotely similar) because ‘common boa’ didn’t sound as exciting. The latter (BCC) were quickly distinguished by disgruntled locality purists as ‘true red tails’ because imperatorandconstrictorare not the same. Furthermore, ‘Columbia’ is actually ‘Colombia,’ and unless you are sporting the lineage of a pure locality Colombian (be it imperator or constrictor) or work with morphs that stem from Colombian blood, the label ‘Colombian’ is neither applicable or appropriate. Red-Tail, of course, points to nothing about subspecies, locality, or morph, and says nothing about the animal outside of ‘it has a reddish tail and I want it to sound like I have something exotic’.  

Too, rainbow boas (epicrates), Dumeril’s (acrantophis), West Indian/Carribean boas (chilabothrus), tree boas (corallus), etc. are NOT boa constrictors. They are in the family boidae but they are neither in the boa genus nor are they a boa constrictor species or subspecies. 

When you see boa constrictor as a group name on FB or anywhere, that refers to that particular species and all the associated subspecies. This does not include species that are in the family boidae that use constriction as the method of dispatching prey. As the list states above, boa constrictor includes constrictor, amarali, longicauda, nebulosa, occidentalis, ortonii, sabogae, and orophias as subspeices. Imperator was elevated to species level and is now boa imperator. If its Latin name does not include ‘boa’ or ‘boa constrictor’ in the scientific name as it does in the above, it is not a boa constrictor.