Boa snakes

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Boa snakes
Idol snake

Idol snake

Systematics
Order : Scale reptiles (Squamata)
without rank: Toxicofera
Subordination : Snakes (serpentes)
Superfamily : Boa-like (Booidea)
Family : Boas (Boidae)
Subfamily : Boa snakes
Scientific name
Boinae
Gray , 1825

The boa snakes , real boas or simply boas (Boinae) are a subfamily of the boas (Boidae). Their distribution area extends over Central and South America .

features

The representatives of the boa snakes are muscular, mostly medium-sized to very large snakes. With the great anaconda , the subfamily contains one of the largest snakes in the world. They differ from the sand boas (Erycinae) in a number of skeletal features, such as post-cranial apomorphies , and in the shape of the hemipenisse . Furthermore, some species of boa snakes carry pit organs , which are always missing in the sand boas .

All boa snakes are ovoviviparous , which means they give birth to live young. Most species are crepuscular or nocturnal ambulance hunters, good swimmers and, with the exception of the largest specimens, good climbers. The anacondas are adapted to a largely aquatic way of life.

Spread and evolution

The current distribution of the boa snakes indicates an origin of the group on Gondwana . Fossil species that are assigned to the boa snakes are also known from the Tertiary of Europe , Siberia and North America , although the exact assignment is often difficult based on the finds that usually consist of a few vertebrae.

Systematics

The boa snakes comprise five genera with 35 species .

The five types of candoia ( Candoia ) who were asked also in the subfamily Boinae to 2013 are now assigned to the subfamily Candoiinae, the three Madagascan Boaarten (genera Acrantophis and Sanzinia ) form the subfamily of acrantophis (Sanziniinae).

The Boinae were originally defined differently and included all species that are now included in the Boidae family.

Protection status

The genus Acrantophis , the species Epicrates inornatus , Epicrates monensis , Epicrates subflavus and Sanzinia madagascariensis as well as the subspecies Boa constrictor occidentalis were included in Appendix I of the Washington Convention on Endangered Species , which prohibits trade in these animals.

All other species of Boinae are listed in Appendix II. This means that the import and export of animals must be approved. Furthermore, animals that are kept privately must be registered with the competent authority (municipality and lower nature conservation authority).

See also

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ G. Underwood: A systematic analysis of boid snakes. In: A. d'ABeallairs, C. B. Cox, (Eds.) Morphology and Biology of Reptiles. Academic Press, London 1976, ISBN 0-12-085850-9 , pp. 151-175.
  2. ↑ Jean-Claude Ragea, Igor G. Danilovb: A new Miocene fauna of snakes from eastern Siberia, Russia. What is the snake fauna largely homogenous in Eurasia during the Miocene? In: Comptes Rendus Palevol . tape 7 , no. 6 , p. 383–390 , doi : 10.1016 / j.crpv.2008.05.004 ( zin.ru [PDF]).
  3. ^ AG Kluge: Boine snake phylogeny and research cycles . In: Miscellaneous Publications Museum of Zoology University of Michigan . No. 178 , 1991, pp. 1–58 ( deepblue.lib.umich.edu [PDF; 1.9 MB ]).
  4. ↑ Boinae in The Reptile Database
  5. ↑ Robert Alexander Pyron, Frank T. Burbrink, John J. Wiens: A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 13.1: 93, 2013 doi: 10.1186 / 1471-2148-13-93
  6. ↑ Michael SY Lee and John D. Scanlon: Snake phylogeny based on osteology, soft anatomy and ecology . In: Biological Reviews . tape 77 , 2002, p. 333-401 .
  7. ↑ Annexes to the agreement at cites.org (English)

Web links

Commons : Boaschlangen (Boinae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Boaschlange  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations