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Citation: Midtgaard, Rune. RepFocus - A Survey of the Reptiles of the World. (www.repfocus.dk).
Latest update: May 12th, 2024.


Taxonomy of the family Boidae
Bibliography of the genus Boa
Biodiversity of the family Boidae








Genus
Boa

Red-tailed Boas

Königsboas, Abgottschlangen

Kongeboaer

1758 Boa Linnaeus (type species: Boa constrictor Linnaeus 1758)
1768 Constrictor Laurenti (type species: Constrictor formosissimus Laurenti 1768)
1816 Draco Oken (type species: Boa constrictor Linnaeus 1758)
Contents: 7 species, of which 4 (57.1%) are endemic.
Endemism: 0% 100%
Remarks: Kluge (1991) regarded Acrantophis and Sanzinia as synonyms of Boa. During the first half of the twentieth century, the single species recognized at that time in this genus was referred to as Constrictor constrictor. Forcart (1951) reestablished the current usage of Boa.
Distribution: Mexico, Central America, South America, West Indies.
Reported from: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil (Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para [incl. Marajo Island], Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro [incl. Ilha Grande Island], Rio Grande do Norte, Rondonia, Roraima, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins), Colombia (incl. Gorgona Island, Providencia, San Andres, Santa Catalina), Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras (incl. Islas de la Bahia [Barbareta, Cayos Cochinos (Cayo Cochino Major, Cayo Cochino Pequeño), Guanaja, Roatan, Utila]), Mexico (Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico State, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit [incl. Islas Marias (Maria Cleofas, Maria Madre, Maria Magdalena)], Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas), Nicaragua (incl. Islas del Maiz [Isla Grande del Maiz, Isla Pequeña del Maiz]), Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Surinam, Trinidad & Tobago (Tobago, Trinidad), Venezuela (incl. Margarita).

Boa atlantica

Atlantic Forest Red-tailed Boa

Atlantische Königsboa, Atlantische Abgottschlange

Atlantisk Kongeboa

2024 Boa atlantica Gonzalez, Lima, Passos & Silva

Remarks: Previously regarded as the East Brazilian coastal population of constrictor (e.g., Forcart 1951; Stimson 1969).
Distribution: Brazil (Alagoas, Bahia, Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro [incl. Ilha Grande], Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe).





Boa constrictor

South American Red-tailed Boa, Common Red-tailed Boa, Common Boa, Neotropical Boa

Südamerikanische Königsboa, Gewöhnliche Abgottschlange

Sydamerikansk Kongeboa

1758 Boa constrictor Linnaeus
Constrictor constrictor Ihering 1910
1768 Constrictor auspex Laurenti (Stimson 1969)
1768 Constrictor diviniloquus Laurenti (Stimson 1969)
Boa diviniloqua Boulenger 1893
1768 Constrictor formosissimus Laurenti (Stimson 1969)
1768 Constrictor rex serpentum Laurenti (Stimson 1969)
1932 Constrictor constrictor amarali Stull
Boa constrictor amarali Forcart 1951
1983 Boa constrictor melanogaster Langhammer

Other common names:
amarali: Bolivian Boa, Short-tailed Boa
melanogaster: Black-bellied Boa, (Ecuadorian Boa)
Remarks: Previously included imperator, nebulosa, occidentalis, orophias, and the population now assigned to atlantica.
Extinct in: Antigua & Barbuda (Antigua), Guadeloupe, Martinique.
Introduced to: Aruba, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, South Africa (Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Western Cape), U.S. Virgin Islands, USA (Florida).
Distribution: Bolivia, Brazil (Acre, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para [incl. Marajo Island], Parana, Piaui, Rondonia, Roraima, Sao Paulo, Tocantins), Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Trinidad & Tobago (Tobago, Trinidad), Venezuela (incl. Isla Margarita).


Boa constrictor
© Rune Midtgaard

Boa imperator

Central American Red-tailed Boa, Central American Boa, Imperial Boa

Kaiserboa

Kejserboa

1803 Boa imperator Daudin
Constrictor constrictor imperator Ihering 1910
Boa constrictor imperator Forcart 1951
1842 Boa eques Eydoux & Souleyet (Stimson 1969)
1863 Boa diviniloquax mexicana Jan (Stimson 1969)
Boa mexicana Boulenger 1893
Constrictor constrictor mexicanus Stull 1935
1878 Boa ortonii Cope
Constrictor constrictor ortonii Schmidt & Walker 1943
Boa constrictor ortonii Stimson 1969
Boa imperator ortonii Gonzalez, Lima, Passos & Silva 2024
1883 Boa constrictor isthmica Garman (Stimson 1969)
1906 Epicrates sabogae Barbour (Reynolds, Niemiller & Revell 2014)
Constrictor constrictor sabogae Barbour & Loveridge 1929
Boa constrictor sabogae Forcart 1951
Boa imperator sabogae Reynolds, Niemiller & Revell 2014
1991 Boa constrictor longicauda Price & Russo
Boa imperator longicauda Gonzalez, Lima, Passos & Silva 2024

Other common names:
longicauda: Long-tailed Boa
mexicana: Mexican Common Boa
ortonii: Peruvian Boa
sabogae: Saboga Boa
Remarks: Previously considered a subspecies of constrictor (e.g., Forcart 1951). Formerly included sigma, to which species most West Mexican records of imperator refer. Revalidated as a separate species by Reynolds, Niemiller & Revell (2014). Based on the distribution maps in Card, Schield, Adams, Corbin, Perry, Andrew, Pasquesi, Smith, Jezkova, Boback, Booth & Castoe (2016), both imperator and sigma appear to occur in Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Puebla. Older records from these states may therefore represent either of the two species.
Introduced to: Mexico (Quintana Roo: Cozumel), USA (Iowa).
Distribution: Belize, Colombia (incl. Gorgona Island, Providencia, San Andres, Santa Catalina), Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras (incl. Islas de la Bahia [Barbareta, Cayos Cochinos (Cayo Cochino Major, Cayo Cochino Pequeño), Guanaja, Roatan, Utila]), Mexico (Campeche, Chiapas, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatan), Nicaragua (incl. Islas del Maiz [Isla Grande del Maiz, Isla Pequeña del Maiz]), Panama, Peru.


Boa imperator
© Klaus Dræby

Boa nebulosa

Clouded Boa

Dominica-Königsboa

Dominica-kongeboa

1964 Constrictor constrictor nebulosus Lazell
Boa constrictor nebulosa Stimson 1969
Boa nebulosa Walls 1998

Introduced to: Guadeloupe (Iles de la Petite Terre: Terre-de-Bas).
Distribution: Dominica.


Boa occidentalis

Argentinian Red-tailed Boa, Argentinian Boa

Argentinische Königsboa, Argentinische Abgottschlange

Argentinsk Kongeboa

1873 Boa occidentalis Philippi
Constrictor constrictor occidentalis Ihering 1910
Boa constrictor occidentalis Forcart 1951

Remarks: Previously regarded as a subspecies of constrictor (e.g., Forcart 1951; Stimson 1969). Revalidated as a separate species by Gonzalez, Lima, Passos & Silva (2024).
Distribution: Argentina, Paraguay.





Boa orophias

Saint Lucia Red-tailed Boa, Saint Lucia Boa

Saint Lucia-Königsboa

Saint Lucia-kongeboa

1758 Boa Orophias Linnaeus
Constrictor orophias Laurenti 1768
Constrictor constrictor orophias Amaral 1929
Boa constrictor orophias Stimson 1969

Remarks: Revalidated as a separate species by Walls (1998).
Introduced to: Martinique.
Distribution: Saint Lucia.


Boa sigma

West Mexican Red-tailed Boa, (North American Boa, Tres Marias Boa)

Westmexikanische Königsboa

Vestmexicansk Kongeboa

1943 Constrictor constrictor sigma Smith
Boa sigma Card, Schield, Adams, Corbin, Perry, Andrew, Pasquesi, Smith, Jezkova, Boback, Booth & Castoe 2016

Remarks: Previously considered a subspecies of imperator (e.g., Stimson 1969). Revalidated as a separate species by Card, Schield, Adams, Corbin, Perry, Andrew, Pasquesi, Smith, Jezkova, Boback, Booth & Castoe (2016). Based on the distribution maps in Card, Schield, Adams, Corbin, Perry, Andrew, Pasquesi, Smith, Jezkova, Boback, Booth & Castoe (2016), both imperator and sigma appear to occur in Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Puebla. Older records from these states may therefore represent either of the two species.
Distribution: Mexico (Chihuahua, Colima, Durango, Guerrero, Jalisco, Mexico State, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit [incl. Islas Marias (Maria Cleofas, Maria Madre, Maria Magdalena)], Oaxaca, Puebla, Sinaloa, Sonora, Zacatecas).