Corallus ruschenbergerii

Corallus ruschenbergerii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Boidae
Genus: Corallus
Species:
C. ruschenbergerii
Binomial name
Corallus ruschenbergerii
(Cope, 1875)
Synonyms[2]

Corallus ruschenbergerii, commonly known as the Central American tree boa, common tree boa, and Trinidad tree boa, is a boa species found in lower Central America and northern South America. No subspecies are currently recognized.[3][4] Like all boas, it is not venomous.

Etymology

The specific name, ruschenbergerii, is in honor of William Ruschenberger, who was a United States Navy surgeon.[5]

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.[6]

Geographic range

Corallus 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".[2][3]

Habitat

Corallus ruschenbergerii is a relatively common species found in wide range of habitats from near sea level to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level: mangroves, riparian forests, wet and dry lowland forests, tree-lined savanna, and palm groves. It is nocturnal.[1]

Feeding

The primary diet of C. ruschenbergerii consists of rodents and other small mammals (such as bats and mouse opossums), as well as lizards, frogs and birds.[6][7][8]

Captivity

Still fairly rare in captivity, C. ruschenbergerii is only recently becoming more common in the United States.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Acosta Chaves, V.; et al. (2016). "Corallus ruschenbergerii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T203211A2762201. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T203211A2762201.en.
  2. ^ a b 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).
  3. ^ a b Corallus ruschenbergerii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 23 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Corallus ruschenbergerii ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
  5. ^ 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).
  6. ^ a b c 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.
  7. ^ "Corallus ruschenbergerii (Tree Boa or Cascabel Dormillion)" (PDF). Sta.uwi.edu. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  8. ^ "The Herpetology of Trinidad and Tobago: Ruschenberger's Treeboa, Corallus ruschenbergerii (Family Boidae)". 30 June 2016.

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.