''Chilabothrus chrysogaster'', commonly known as the Turks and Caicos Islands boa or the Southern Bahamas boa, 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 ...

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 ...

found in the Southern

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 ...

(

Great Inagua 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 ...

, Sheep Cay) and the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

. Local names include the rainbow boa (not to be confused with ''Epicrates cenchria'', the "real"

rainbow boa The rainbow boa (''Epicrates cenchria'') is a boa species endemic to Central and South America. A semi-arboreal species (not only do they climb in they wild but also proven in captivity), it is known for its attractive iridescent/holographic sh ...

), the Bahamas cat boa, the rainbow snake, and the fowl snake. Like all

boid 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 ...

s, it is not a

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

species.

Subspecies

Two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognized: *''Chilabothrus chrysogaster chrysogaster'' – Turks and Caicos Islands boa – the Turks and Caicos Islands *''Chilabothrus chrysogaster relicquus'' – Great Inagua boa – the Bahamas (Great Inagua and Sheep Cay) A third subspecies, ''Chilabothrus chrysogaster schwartzi'' from the Bahamas (Crooked Island and Acklins), was formerly recognized, but is now elevated to full species status (i.e., '' Chilabothrus schwartzi''). ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Chilabothrus''.

Description

Turks and Caicos Islands boas are

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

, and actively forage for

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s, and

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

s. They prefer either tropical dry forest

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

or scrub vegetation with plenty of large, flat rocks. Adults reach a maximum size of over or more, but more often they are around long. There are three color morphs of this species: spotted, striped, and no-pattern. The spotted version seems to be the most common, followed by striped and finally the very uncommon no-pattern snakes, which are mostly solid gray with a few dark markings. Juveniles are orange or red and long and thin. Rarely, some adults will retain the juvenile coloration.

Threats

There are three primary threats to this species: #

Introduced predators An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its indigenous (ecology), native distributional range (biolog ...

: Turks and Caicos Islands boas are extremely vulnerable to predation by cats and rats. Cats can likely decimate or exterminate populations of boas on small islands. # Human persecution: People are often afraid of snakes and will kill them on site, mistakenly believing that they are venomous, harmful, or demonic entities. #

Habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

: The Turks and Caicos Islands are being rapidly developed. Boas must compete with people for habitat and suitable places to live. Because they are very slow moving, snakes are easily killed when trying to cross the roads that run through their habitat. They cannot dodge passing cars, and a road through their habitat can drastically reduce reproductive adults in a population.

Distribution and habitat

In the

, the Turks and Caicos Islands boa is found on

and

Sheep Cay Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

. In the Turks and Caicos Islands, it is found on 10 islands, nine of which are on the Caicos Bank. Boas are occasionally still found on

Providenciales Providenciales (known locally as Provo) is an island in the northwest Caicos Islands, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The island has an area of and a 2012 Census population of 23,769. Providenciales is the la ...

, though this population has likely been decimated in the last 30 years and is in danger of

extirpation Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

. Though originally reported from Grand Turk, the Turks and Caicos Islands boa now appears to be only found on islands on the Caicos Bank and a few of the Turks Cays.

Subspecies

Description

Threats

Distribution and habitat

References

Further reading