The Booidea, also known as booid snakes, are a superfamily of

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s that contains boas (family

Boidae The Boidae, commonly known as boas or boids, are a family of nonvenomous snakes primarily found in the Americas, as well as Africa, Europe, Asia, and some Pacific Islands. Boas include some of the world's largest snakes, with the green anaconda ...

) and other closely related boa-like snakes (but not

python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

s, which are in a separate superfamily called Pythonoidea). As of 2017, Booidea contains 61 species, including the eponymous neotropical ''

Boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family B ...

'', anacondas (genus ''

Eunectes ''Eunectes'' is a genus of boas found in tropical South America commonly called anacondas. They are a semiaquatic group of snakes and include one of the largest snakes in the world, '' E. murinus'', the green anaconda. Four species are currentl ...

''), and smaller tree and rainbow boas ('' Corallus'', '' Epicrates'', and ''

Chilabothrus ''Chilabothrus'', commonly known as the Greater Antillean boas or West Indian boas, is a genus of nonvenomous snakes the family Boidae. The genus is endemic to the West Indies. 12 or 14 species are recognized as being valid. Distribution Speci ...

'') as well as several genera of booid snakes from various locations around the world: bevel-nosed boas or keel-scaled boas (''

Candoia ''Candoia'' is a genus of non-venomous boas found mostly in New Guinea, Melanesia and the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. Five species are recognized. Common names include the bevel-nosed boas and keel-scaled boas. Description The species of the ge ...

'') from New Guinea and Melanesia, Old World sand boas (''

Eryx Eryx is a French short-range portable semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) based wire-guided anti-tank missile (ATGM) manufactured by MBDA France and by MKEK under licence. The weapon can also be used against larger bunkers and smal ...

'') from Northeast Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia, rubber boas (''

Charina ''Charina'' is a genus of nonvenomous boas, commonly known as rubber boas, found in North America. Two species are currently recognized''.'' Distribution and habitat Found in North America from western Canada south through the western United St ...

'') and rosy boas (''

Lichanura ''Lichanura'', the rosy boas, are a genus of snakes in the family Boidae. They are distributed across the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in t ...

'') from North America, neotropical dwarf boas ('' Ungaliophis'') and the Oaxacan dwarf boa (''

Exiliboa :''Common names: Oaxacan dwarf boa.'' ''Exiliboa'' is a monotypic genus created for the non-venomous dwarf boa species ''Exiliboa placata'', which is endemic to southern Mexico. No subspecies are currently recognized. Description ''E. placata'' ...

'') from Central America, Madagascan boas or Malagasy boas (''

Acrantophis ''Acrantophis'' is a genus of terrestrial boid snakes endemic to the island of Madagascar. Species Two species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodivers ...

'' and ''

Sanzinia ''Sanzinia'' is a genus of snakes in the family Boidae The Boidae, commonly known as boas or boids, are a family of nonvenomous snakes primarily found in the Americas, as well as Africa, Europe, Asia, and some Pacific Islands. Boas include ...

'') from Madagascar, and the

Calabar python :''Common names: Calabar ground boa, burrowing boa, Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . Calabar boa, more.'' The Calabar python (''Calabaria reinhardtii'') is a species of non-ven ...

(''Calabaria'') from tropical West-Central Africa. Many snake biologists choose to recognize at least ''Calabaria'' as a member of a separate family (Calabariidae). The taxonomy of boas, pythons, and other henophidian snakes has long been debated, and ultimately the decision whether to assign a particular clade to a particular Linnaean rank (such as a

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

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 ...

, or

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

) is arbitrary. The clade name Booidea emphasizes the relatively close evolutionary relationship among these 61 species, which last shared a common ancestor about 68 I:49–73million years ago, in contrast to the more distant relationship between booids and their next closest relatives, pythonoids and uropeltoids (the most recent common ancestor between booids and these other snakes lived ~79 I:65–93million years ago).

References

Alethinophidia {{Alethinophidia-stub