The Bahamian pygmy boa constrictor (''Tropidophis canus''), also known as the Inagua trope or Bahama wood snake, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of non
venomous snake
Venomous snakes are Species (biology), species of the Suborder (biology), suborder Snake, Serpentes that are capable of producing Snake venom, venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The v ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Tropidophiidae
The Tropidophiidae, common name dwarf boas or thunder snakes, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found from Mexico and the West Indies south to southeastern Brazil. These are small to medium-sized fossorial snakes, some with beautiful and strik ...
. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Great Inagua Island
Inagua is the southernmost district of the Bahamas, comprising the islands of Great Inagua and Little Inagua. The headquarters for the district council are in Matthew Town.
History
The original settlers were the Lucayan people, who arrived some ...
in the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
.
Description
Like all species of pygmy boas the Bahamian pygmy boa is a rather small snake averaging between and in total length.camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
.prey
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
.
Behavior
The Bahamian pygmy boa is mostly inactive during daytime hours, usually coming out at night.arboreal
Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...
.ball python
The ball python (''Python regius''), also called the royal python, is a python species native to West and Central Africa, where it lives in grasslands, shrublands and open forests. This nonvenomous constrictor is the smallest of the African p ...
.Andros Island
Andros Island is an archipelago within the Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consis ...
the species is known as the "shame snake" because of this defensive tactic.
References
Further reading
* Bailey JR (1937). "A review of some recent ''Tropidophis'' material". ''Proc. New England Zool. Club'' 16: 41-52. (''Tropidophis pardalis barbouri'', new subspecies, p. 49).
* Boulenger GA (1893). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Boidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (''Ungalia cana'', p. 114).
* Cope ED (1868). "An examination of the REPTILIA and BATRACHIA obtained by the Orton Expedition to Equador icand the Upper Amazon, with notes on other Species". ''Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia'' 20: 96-140. (''Ungalia cana'', new species, p. 129).
* Garman S (1887). "On West Indian Reptiles in the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, at Cambridge, Mass." ''Proc. American Philosoph. Soc.'' 24: 278-286. (''Ungualia curta'', new species, p. 279).
* Schwartz A, Thomas R
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
(1975). ''A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles''. Carnegie Museum of Natural History
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896.
Housing some 22 millio ...
Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (''Tropidophis canus'', pp. 191–192).
* Stull OG (1928). "A Revision of the Genus ''Tropidophis'' ". ''Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan'' (195): 1-52. (''Tropidophis pardalis androsi'', new subspecies, pp. 34–35).
External links
Ardastra Zoo Page
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2384667
Tropidophiidae
Reptiles described in 1868
Snakes of the Caribbean
Reptiles of the Bahamas
Endemic fauna of the Bahamas
Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope