''Candoia carinata'', known commonly as the Pacific ground boa, Pacific keel-scaled boa, or Indonesian tree 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, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 anacond ...

Distribution and habitat

''C. carinata'' is found in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

, and the Bismarck Archipelago.

In captivity

''C. carinata'' is popular as a pet in Indonesia, where it is known by the common name ''monopohon'' (''pohon'' means "tree" in the Indonesian language).

Subspecies

''Candoia carinata carinata''

While the nominate subspecies, ''C. c. carinata'', may be occasionally found in trees, this Papuan snake is most often found on the ground. 784 pp. . (''Candoia paulsoni'', pp. 582, 595).

''Candoia carinata paulsoni''

Males of ''C. c. paulsoni'' are smaller and lighter than females, and show spurs. Males are long, and in weight. Females are generally in length and weigh . The colour varies from dark brown to auburn with distinct patterns, though there is also the color morph "''paulsoni santa isabella'' ", which is white. The subspecies ''C. c. paulsoni'' was elevated to species status as '' Candoia paulsoni'' by H.M. Smith, et al. in 2001.

''Candoia carinata tepedeleni''

Commonly known as Tepedelen's bevel-nosed boa.

Etymology

The specific name or

subspecific name In zoological nomenclature, a subspecific name is the third part of a trinomen. In zoology there is only one rank below that of species, namely "subspecies". In botanical nomenclature, there are several levels of subspecific names, such as ''var ...

, ''paulsoni'', is in honour of Swedish

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and rep ...

John Paulson.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Candoia paulsoni'', p. 202; ''Candoia carinata tepedeleni'', p. 263).). The subspecific name, ''tepedeleni'', is in honour of herpetologist Kumaran Tepedelen.

References

* 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. (''Enygrus carinatus'', pp. 107–109). * Schneider JG (1801). ''Historiae Amphibiorum naturalis et literariae Fasciculus Secundus continens Crocodilos, Scincos, Chamaesauras, Boas, Pseudoboas, Elaps, Angues, Amphisbaenas et Caecilias.'' Jena: F. Frommann. vi + 374 pp. + Plates I-II. (''Boa carinata'', new species, pp. 261–263). (in Latin). * Smith HM, Chiszmar D, Tepedelen K, van Breukelen F (2001). "A revision of bevelnosed boas (''Candoia carinatus'' complex) (Reptilia: Serpentes)". ''Hamadryad'' 26 (2): 283–315. carinata Reptiles described in 1801 Snakes of New Guinea Taxa named by Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider Fauna of the Maluku Islands Reptiles of the Solomon Islands {{Alethinophidia-stub