Earth boas

Earth boas
Cuban dwarf boa ( Tropidophis melanurus )
Systematics
Superordinate : Scale lizards (Lepidosauria) Order : Scale reptiles (Squamata) without rank: Toxicofera Subordination : Snakes (serpentes) incertae sedis Family : Earth boas
Scientific name
Tropidophiidae
Brongersma , 1951

The Erdboas (Tropidophiidae) are a family of snakes found in Cuba , the Cayman and Caicos Islands and in northwestern South America.

features

Earth boas are small to medium-sized snakes and display both native and inferred traits . The primitive include the remains of the pelvic girdle , which are still present in all but one species. The derived characteristics include the well-developed tracheal lungs . In contrast to the boas and pythons , the right lung is not reduced in the earth boas , but the left lung has receded or is missing. Both ovaries are well developed. The hyoid horns stand close together and are aligned parallel. There are no heat-sensitive labial pits .

Like the real boa snakes, the earth boas are ovoviviparous , that is, they give birth to live young.

Genera and species

The extinct earth boa Messelophis ermannorum from the Messel Pit .

Tropidophis semicinctus

There are two genera with 34 species:

• Genus Trachyboa Peters, 1860
  • Trachyboa boulengeri ( Trachyboa boulengeri (Peracca, 1910))
  • Trachyboa gularis Peters, 1860
• Genus Tropidophis Bibron in de la Sagra, 1840
  • Tropidophis battersbyi Laurent, 1949
  • Tropidophis bucculentus (Cope, 1868)
  • Tropidophis canus (Cope, 1868)
  • Tropidophis caymanensis Battersby, 1938
  • Tropidophis celiae Hedges, Estrada & Díaz, 1999
  • Tropidophis curtus (Garman, 1887)
  • Tropidophis feicki Schwartz, 1957
  • Tropidophis fuscus Hedges & Garrido, 1992
  • Tropidophis galacelidus Schwartz & Garrido, 1975
  • Tropidophis grapiuna Curcio, Sales Nunes, Suzart Argolo, Skuk & Rodrigues, 2012
  • Tropidophis greenwayi Barbour & Shreve, 1936
  • Tropidophis haetianus (Cope, 1879)
  • Tropidophis hardyi Schwartz & Garrido, 1975
  • Tropidophis hendersoni Hedges & Garrido, 2002
  • Tropidophis jamaicensis Stull, 1928
  • Tropidophis maculatus (Bibron, 1840)
  • Cuban dwarf boa ( Tropidophis melanurus (Schlegel, 1837))
  • Tropidophis morenoi Hedges, Garrido & Díaz, 2001
  • Tropidophis nigriventris Bailey, 1937
  • Tropidophis pardalis (Gundlach, 1840)
  • Tropidophis parkeri Grant, 1941
  • Tropidophis paucisquamis (Müller, 1901)
  • Tropidophis pilsbryi Bailey, 1937
  • Tropidophis preciosus Curcio, Sales Nunes, Suzart Argolo, Skuk & Rodrigues, 2012
  • Tropidophis schwartzi Thomas, 1963
  • Tropidophis semicinctus (Gundlach & Peters, 1864)
  • Tropidophis spiritus Hedges & Garrido, 1999
  • Tropidophis stejnegeri Grant, 1940
  • Tropidophis stullae Grant, 1940
  • Tropidophis taczanowskyi (Steindachner, 1880)
  • Tropidophis wrighti Stull, 1928
  • Tropidophis xanthogaster Domínguez, Moreno & Hedges, 2006

In addition to the recent species, some extinct species are known from Europe, North and South America, including Messelophis from the Messel Pit .

Web links

Commons : Erdboas (Tropidophiidae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Tropidophiidae in The Reptile Database

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mark O'Shea: Boas & Pythons of the World. New Holland Publishers, 2011, ISBN 1-8477-3872-9 , p. 19.
2. ↑ John P. Rafferty: Reptiles and amphibians. Britannica Educational Pub., 2011, p. 131.
3. ^ Tropidophiidae in The Reptile Database
4. ↑ Family Tropidophiidae Cope 1894 (dwarf boa). The Paleobiology Database.