Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was Its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's. The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Now, only two species remain in North America, as well as the sand boas in Africa, Asia and southeastern Europe.Īt least three erycine species lay eggs: the Calabar Boa, (Calabaria reinhardtii) (once classified as a python for this reason), the Arabian Sand Boa, (Eryx jayakari) and the West African Sand Boa, (Eryx muelleri).Apparently, there's a snake mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that's able to do this– Fossil erycines have been found in rock strata over 50 million years old and were once widespread in North America. Sanzinia (Madagascar Tree Boa sometimes equated with Boa)Ĭompared to true boas, erycines are quite small, with most members remaining well under a metre in length. It has been suggested that genera within each of these particular areas do not form monophyletic groups (groups consisting of an inferred common ancestor and all its descendants).īoa (one species: Boa constrictor, also called the Red-tailed Boa)Īcrantophis (Dumeril’s Boa and Madagascar Ground Boa sometimes equated with Boa) Snakes of the subfamily ‘Boinae’ are found in Madagascar, Papua, Pacific Islands and the Neotropics. Boa Constrictor Sub Species Sub Family Boinae Unlike many other reptiles and snakes, they give birth to live young instead of laying eggs. The female of the species can give birth to as many as 50 young at any one time. Boa Constrictor Reproductionīoa Constrictors are seasonal breeders. It can take several weeks for a Boa to digest its food completely.īoa Constrictors use ‘heat sensitive pits’ on their heads to sense their surroundings because they have bad eyesight. When the prey has been suffocated the Boa eats it whole. Boa Constrictors use constriction to suffercate their prey. The Boa Constrictor has no venom unlike many other snakes, but when threatened they will hiss and strike their opponent, their bite can be very, very painful. Boa Constrictors will also feed on lizards, small mongoose, bats, rats, squirrels, iguanas and other small mammals. Boa Constrictor Dietīoa Constrictors easily populate areas where there is food such as rodents and songbirds. Instead, it is possible that boas have survived in evolutionarily isolated areas. It used to be said that boas were New World Snakes and pythons were Old World Snakes, but, with boas found on Madagascar, Fiji and Solomon Islands, this is not quite true. The Boa Constrictors from the Amazon Basin are the most colorful, possessing bright cherry red tails. Boa Constrictors contain many subspecies based on locality. The longest ever recorded Boa Constrictor is said to have been 18 feet long, thats over 3 times as long as you or me if you are about 5 feet tall.įemale Boa Constrictors are usually larger than males. Boa Constrictors have large curved teeth which are used to grasp prey in. The Boa Constrictor is the largest snake in the Belize Rianforest, reaching an amazing length of 12 feet from head to tail tip. Boa Constrictor Descriptionīoa Constrictors vary in color from a pinkish brown to grey with distinguished markings called ‘crossbands’ along their body. Sand boas are also frequently listed under their own family, ‘Erycidae’. Pythons are sometimes classified as a subfamily of Boidae, but are frequently listed under their own family, ‘Pythonidae’. Boa Constrictors have two subfamilies: ‘Boinae’ or true boas and ‘Erycinae’ or sand boas. Boa Constrictors can been seen throughout the forest and sometimes in off shore caves. There, it is known as ‘Wowla’ to the natives of Belize. The Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor) resides in the Rainforests of Belize, Northern Mexico and Argentina in South America.

Boa constrictor snakes