Epicrates gracilis
| Epicrates gracilis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Boidae |
| Subfamily: | Boinae |
| Genus: | Epicrates |
| Species: | E. gracilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Epicrates gracilis (J.G. Fischer, 1888) | |
| Synonyms | |
Epicrates gracilis, known commonly as the Haitian tree boa, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the Boidae family.[2] It is found on Hispaniola.
Description
Adults may attain a total length of 89.5 cm (35 1⁄4 in), which includes a tail 16.5 cm (6 1⁄2 in) long.
Dorsally it is blackish gray, with small black spots, which are arranged in six series running down the body. Ventrally it is lighter in color.
The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 40 rows. Ventrals 282-289; anal plate entire; subcaudals 100-103 also entire.
Body slender and strongly laterally compressed. Upper labials 11 or 12, the sixth and seventh (or fifth and sixth) entering the eye.[3]
Subspecies
The following two subspecies are recognized.
- Epicrates gracilis gracilis J.G. Fischer, 1888
- Epicrates gracilis hapalus Sheplan & Schwartz, 1974[4]
References
- ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ↑ "Epicrates". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
- ↑ Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families...Boidæ... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I.-XXVIII. (Epicrates gracilis, p. 98.)
- ↑ Schwartz, Albert, and Richard Thomas. 1975. A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 216 pp. (Epicrates gracilis, p. 184.)
Further reading
- Fischer, J.G. 1888. Über eine Kollektion Reptilien und Amphibien von Hayti. Jahrbuch der Hamburgischen Wissenschaftlichen Anstalten 5: 23-45. ("Chilabothrus gracilis sp. n.", pp. 35–36 + Plate III., Figures 8a & 8b.)
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