644:" (deep, dark, grayish brown), the other as "chestnut" with a darker colour near the tail, the first had a darker ventral surface, the second he describes as "slate" coloured, and the last had a lighter slate-brown underside with the ventral scales having paler edges. The first was patterned with seventy to eighty indistinct dusky cross bars consisting of a row of spots, these cross bars increasing in width to the end of the snake; in the second these patterns were much more distinct, with the crossbars having pale centres but being outlined in blackish colour, the lateral spots being so aligned as to form a blackish line in the front third of its body, but in the last snake there was little evidence of patterning with only a few scattered and obscure darkish spots on its sides. The iris he describes as "silvery gray clouded with dusky".
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The boa feeds by seizing the prey in its jaws, wrapping several coils around it, and then constricting until the prey has suffocated. The prey is then swallowed headfirst. The feeding habits of the very young are unknown. However, locals claim they eat small lizards, other small vertebrates and some
825:
In 1904 Stejneger mentions that during his time the snake was rather rare, he himself, as well as a number of other collecting parties in the newly acquired territory, were unable to see one during their expeditions on the island, although a trail of one was seen. Other collecting parties were able
841:
After the invasion and annexation of the territory by the United States a few years before
Stejneger and numerous other Americans were able to collect on the island, there was a subsequent economic decline due to the loss of traditional agricultural markets for sugar, and much of the forests have
826:
to collect five specimens in 1900 and in those first few years the island became a possession of the United States, and bring these to the mainland, almost doubling the specimens known at the time. In the previous century only six other specimens had been secured, these were all in Europe -one in
639:
scales. It can grow to some 1.9 m (6.2 ft), with 261 to 271 ventral scales and 67 to 75 caudal scales, according to
Stejneger in 1904, who only knew of at least twelve specimens at the time. The colours of the three live specimens he knew of were variable; two he describes as
842:
regrown on the island. There is an indication that the boa has recovered somewhat in recent years, although not to the degree that protective measures can be dropped. To prevent its extinction, a few conservation efforts have been attempted, including a conservation area for it in
818:). Impacts to the boa resulting from the oil trade were undoubtedly heightened by a concurrent reduction of habitat. Deforestation of the island began during this period and continued until, by the early 20th century, very little natural forest remained. Predation by the
736:
This species is a sit-and-wait predator as opposed to an active hunter of prey. It is a nocturnal, terrestrial hunter which is not found often in trees. The dissections of 72 snakes from the West Indies show that while young boas of the genus
793:
species. Observations in the 1980s revealed that boas capture the bats in flight by hanging at the opening of the cave, waiting until bats fly out of it. They then grab a bat with their jaws before killing it via constriction.
781:
before the introduction of these species. Bats constitute the other half. Newborn snakes may possibly feed on geckos. It is thought that this species in particular feeds less on anoles and more on birds, rodents and bats.
751:) feed for some 60% on mammals combined, which distinguishes them ecologically from the other three genera of snakes on the island. Birds constitute some 10% of the diet. The rest of the prey items are composed of
838:, but this one is now thought to have been misidentified), two or more somewhere in Spain (those of Seoane supposedly from Mindanao), and the three original syntypes used by Reinhardt in Copenhagen.
532:
of this species by
Stejneger. Seoane's brother was an officer in the Spanish Navy and thus the localities of the group of specimens Seoane had obtained were confused during their passage to Spain.
822:, introduced into Puerto Rico in the 19th century, has been postulated as a further cause for the boa's present status, but there is no direct evidence to support this idea.
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lizards and a very small number of frogs. They also prey on much larger-sized prey than the other snakes. Half of the mammals are non-native species of mice (
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colonization in Puerto Rico the boa was relatively abundant, and oil produced from the snake's fat was utilized extensively as an export (see
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865:
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1129:; Dornburg, A.; Puente-RolĂłn, A.; Revell, L. J. (2013). "Molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography of West Indian boid snakes (
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London: Trustees of the
British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (
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Since the karst region where the Puerto Rican boa lives usually has many caves, the boa has the opportunity to feed on
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snake with a pale brown to dark brown coloration. It grows to 1.9 m (6.2 ft) in length. It feeds on small
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Catalogue of the Snakes in the
British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Boidæ ...
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Historic records, some dating back to the 18th century, indicate that during the first few centuries of
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It is found in wooded and rocky places in the foothills. It is more common in the northwest and in the
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Special
Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (
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in 1843. Reinhardt had three snakes of this species to study for his description, these are the
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Rodriguez, Gustavo A.; Reagan, Douglas P. (1984). "Bat predation by the Puerto Rican boa,
598:. They were collected by a certain Dr. Ravn from Puerto Rico. It is often still known as
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1106:. Washington, District of Columbia: United States National Museum. pp. 688–692.
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Herpetology of Porto Rico (in United States
National Museum Annual report of 1902)
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Rodriguez-Duran, Armando (1996). "Foraging ecology of the Puerto Rican boa (
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1059:"Puerto Rican Boa (Epicrates inornatus) | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service"
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763:), it is suspected that the original prey was other small mammals such as
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830:(used by Jan), one in Paris (studied by Duméril and Bibron from
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regions which are found along the northern coast of the island.
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It grows to 1.8–2.7 m (5.9–8.9 ft) in total length.
18:
1198:"Biogeographic patterns of predation in West Indian snakes"
1203:
Biogeography of the West Indies: Past, present, and future
1196:
Henderson, Robert W.; Crother, Brian I. (January 1989).
1206:. Gainesville: Sandhill Crane Press. pp. 479–518.
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Pregnant females give birth to about 23-26 live boas.
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for some fifty years until they were split in 1901 by
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A Check-list of West Indian
Amphibians and Reptiles
1034:"Aprende a distinguir a nuestra boa puertorriqueña"
539:for over a century, having been moved to the genus
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
627:, meaning 'adorned', thus the boa is 'unadorned'.
889:Rodriguez, C.; Mayer, G.C.; Tolson, P.J. (2018).
789:-a phenomenon which was previously seen in other
635:A characteristic of the species is the irregular
1278:): bat predation, carrion feeding, and piracy".
699:The Puerto Rican boa is endemic to Puerto Rico.
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553:in 1893 when cataloguing the specimens in the
485:(bearing live young) and kills its prey using
914:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T7821A74870228.en
655:It is the largest snake on the island; other
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557:, a number of authors decided to it move to
1334:, pp. 253–257, plate i, figures 21–23)
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535:Although it has been known under the name
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
1565:Taxa named by Johannes Theodor Reinhardt
834:, there was also a second specimen from
671:and very small blindsnakes of the genus
968:Integrated Taxonomic Information System
876:
884:
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1135:Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
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745:, mature boas (with the exception of
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1320:Beskrivelse af Nogle nye Slangearter
866:List of endemic fauna of Puerto Rico
561:in 2013. It had first been moved to
524:in the Philippines, by the Spaniard
47:adding citations to reliable sources
1530:IUCN Red List least concern species
1125:Reynolds, R. G.; Niemiller, M. L.;
900:IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
545:(which had been created in 1830 by
1180:Carnegie Museum of Natural History
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528:in 1881, but was identified as a
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856:List of reptiles of Puerto Rico
497:It is extremely similar to the
481:lizards. Like most boas, it is
34:needs additional citations for
1324:Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Afhandl
1200:. In Woods, Charles A. (ed.).
582:, or the Italian snake expert
555:Natural History Museum, London
477:and bats, birds and sometimes
1:
1001:Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
571:in 1844 by either the French
1545:Endemic fauna of Puerto Rico
1212:10.1016/0169-5347(90)90113-R
677:. The only other species of
576:André Marie Constant Duméril
1147:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.04.029
549:) by the Belgian zoologist
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1550:Reptiles described in 1843
1003:. Accessed 7 October 2015.
588:Johannes Theodor Reinhardt
449:("big snake"), is a large
445:), most commonly known as
844:San Patricio State Forest
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221:Scientific classification
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1098:Stejneger, Leonhard Hess
1040:(in Spanish). 2024-06-22
1560:Snakes of the Caribbean
1540:Reptiles of Puerto Rico
1112:10.5962/bhl.title.11835
551:George Albert Boulenger
511:Leonhard Hess Stejneger
1555:ESA endangered species
1382:Chilabothrus inornatus
1280:Journal of Herpetology
996:Chilabothrus inornatus
962:Chilabothrus inornatus
893:Chilabothrus inornatus
712:
662:Alsophis portoricensis
659:snake species include
602:in many publications.
563:Chilabothrus inornatus
559:Chilabothrus inornatus
526:es:VĂctor LĂłpez Seoane
503:Chilabothrus subflavus
442:Chilabothrus inornatus
374:Chilabothrus inornatus
340:Chilabothrus inornatus
1127:Hedges, Stephen Blair
710:
684:Chilabothrus monensis
518:Piesigaster boettgeri
390:Piesigaster boettgeri
936:"Appendices | CITES"
907:: e.T7821A74870228.
861:Fauna of Puerto Rico
505:) which was seen as
43:improve this article
1409:epicrates-inornatus
1396:Epicrates_inornatus
1352:Epicrates inornatus
1276:Epicrates inornatus
1237:Epicrates inornatus
1184:Epicrates inornatus
1021:Epicrates inornatus
600:Epicrates inornatus
547:Johann Georg Wagler
520:was described from
402:Epicrates inornatus
174:Conservation status
964:(Reinhardt, 1843)"
748:Epicrates gracilis
741:feed primarily on
713:
594:and are stored in
406:(Reinhardt, 1843)
58:"Puerto Rican boa"
16:Species of reptile
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1344:Taxon identifiers
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322:C. inornatus
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711:Puerto Rican boa
668:Arrhyton exiguum
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437:Puerto Rican boa
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32:This article
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1535:Chilabothrus
1351:
1332:Boa inornata
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1330:: 233–279. (
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1066:. Retrieved
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1042:. Retrieved
1038:Primera Hora
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1440:iNaturalist
1376:Wikispecies
1063:www.fws.gov
766:Nesophontes
689:Mona Island
631:Description
584:Giorgio Jan
507:conspecific
463:terrestrial
459:Puerto Rico
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1168:Schwartz A
1068:2024-09-16
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872:References
778:Isolobodon
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516:The taxon
483:viviparous
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420:H.M. Smith
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207:Appendix I
69:newspapers
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940:cites.org
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606:Etymology
542:Epicrates
408:Boulenger
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244:Kingdom:
238:Eukaryota
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1492:Species+
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850:See also
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522:Mindanao
493:Taxonomy
473:such as
467:arboreal
447:CulebrĂłn
357:Synonyms
294:Family:
278:Squamata
268:Reptilia
258:Chordata
254:Phylum:
248:Animalia
234:Domain:
194:IUCN 3.1
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