Biology:Chilabothrus fordii

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Short description: Species of snake endemic to Hispaniola

Ford's boa
PelophilusFordiiFord.jpg
illustration by G.H. Ford,
for whom the species is named
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Boidae
Genus: Chilabothrus
Species:
C. fordii
Binomial name
Chilabothrus fordii
(Günther, 1861)
Synonyms[2][3][4]
  • Pelophilus fordii
    Günther, 1861
  • Chilabothrus fordii
    — Jan, 1865
  • Chilabothrus maculatus
    J.G. Fischer, 1888
  • Epicrates fordii
    — Boulenger, 1893
  • Epicrates fordi [sic]
    — Schwartz & Thomas, 1975
  • Chilabothrus fordii
    — Reynolds et al., 2013

Chilabothrus fordii, also known commonly as Ford's boa[4] and the Haitian ground boa, is a species of snake in the family Boidae.[5] There are three recognized subspecies.

Geographic range

C. fordii is endemic to the island of Hispaniola (in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic),[1][4] including the surrounding islets of Île à Cabrit, Île de la Gonâve, Isla Catalina, and Isla Saona.[6]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of C. fordii is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 713 m (2,339 ft), but it has also been found in agricultural areas.[1]

Etymology

The specific name, fordii, is in honor of South Africa n-born George Henry Ford,[7] artist at the British Museum (Natural History), "whose merits in herpetology are well known by his truly artistical [sic] drawings".[8]

Description

C. fordii is a small snake. Adults may attain a total length of 74 cm (29 1⁄8 in), which includes a tail 12.5 cm (4 7⁄8 in) long.

Dorsally, it has a ground color that is pale olive, yellowish, or reddish, overlaid by a series of transverse dark brown blotches, which are oval or kidney-shaped, with blackish borders. Some of these blotches may merge to form a wide wavy stripe in some places. Ventrally, it is yellowish, with small brown spots.

The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 33-43 rows. The ventrals number 250-265; the anal plate is entire; and the subcaudals, which number 70-80, are also entire.

On the dorsal surface of the head, the large frontal contacts the supraoculars; the remainder is covered by small irregular plates. There are 13 or 14 upper labials, without labial pits.[2]

Diet

C. fordii preys upon lizards and rodents.[1]

Reproduction

C. fordii is viviparous.[1][4]

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominate subspecies.

  • Chilabothrus fordii fordii (Günther, 1861)
  • Chilabothrus fordii agametus Sheplan & Schwartz, 1974
  • Chilabothrus fordii manototus Schwartz, 1979

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

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Landestoy M, Inchaustegui S, Henderson RW (2021). "Chilabothrus fordii ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T15155091A15155181.en. Accessed on 10 April 2023.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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. (Epicrates fordii, p. 98).
  3. ↑ Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. ("Epicrates fordi [sic]", p. 184).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Species Chilabothrus fordii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  5. ↑ The species is endemic to Hispaniola."Epicrates ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=634798. Retrieved August 11, 2010. 
  6. ↑ Henderson RW, Powell R (2004). "Epicrates fordii ". Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (800): 1–3.
  7. ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN:978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Epicrates fordi [sic]", p. 92).
  8. ↑ Günther A (1861). "On a New Species of the Family Boidae". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1861: 142 + Plate XXIII. (Pelophilus fordii, new species).

Further reading

  • McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN:1-893777-00-6 (series), ISBN:1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  • Reynolds RG, Henderson RW (2018). "Boas of the World (Superfamily Booidae): A Checklist with Systematic, Taxonomic and Conservation Assessments". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 162 (1): 1–58. (Chilabothrus fordii, p. 11).
  • Reynolds RG, Niemiller ML, Hedges SB, Dornburg A, Peuente-Rolón AR, Revell LJ (2013). "Molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography of West Indian boid snakes (Chilabothrus)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 68 (3): 461–470.


Wikidata ☰ Q3011592 entry




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