''Corallus hortulana'', previously known as ''Corallus hortulanus,'' and commonly known as the Amazon tree boa, common tree boa, garden tree boa,Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . and macabrel, is a

boa Boa, BoA, or BOA may refer to: Snakes * Any member of the Boidae, a family of medium to large, non-venomous, constricting snakes ** Any member of the Boinae, a subfamily of boid snakes *** Any member of ''Boa'' (genus), a group of boid snakes * ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

found in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. Previously, there were two recognized

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

, ''Corallus hortulanus hortulanus,'' and ''Corallus hortulanus cooki'', though the species has undergone taxonomic revision and has been broken up into several species. It is primarily

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

and

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

, though it has been observed feeding and reproducing on the ground. Like all boas, it is non-venomous.

Description

Adults grow to an average of 5 and 6.5 feet (1.5–2 m)Burnie D, Wilson DE. 2001. Animal. Dorling Kindersley. 624 pp. . This species exhibits an array of colors and patterns. The basic color can be anywhere from black, brown, or gray, to any shade of red, orange, yellow, or many colors in between. The head generally has five dark stripes that extend from the eyes. The eyes can be yellowish, grayish, or reddish, and they have a reflective membrane that results in eyeshine at night. Some are patternless, while others may be speckled, banded, or saddled with rhomboid or chevron shapes. Some reds will have yellow patterns, some yellows red or orange patterns. "The tongue is black. Males and females are similar in size and markings. They range from 525 to 1880 mm in length, usually from 1200 to 1500 mm." Like all other boas they have a pair of

anal spurs Pelvic spurs (also known as vestigial legs) are external protrusions found around the cloaca in certain superfamilies of snakes belonging to the greater infraorder ''Alethinophidia''.Pough, F. H. (Ed.). (2004). ''Herpetology'' (3rd ed). Prentice ...

that extend from the cloaca, which are small, claw-like remnants of

vestigial Vestigiality is the retention, during the process of evolution, of genetically determined structures or attributes that have lost some or all of the ancestral function in a given species. Assessment of the vestigiality must generally rely on co ...

hindlimbs. In the

herpetoculture Herpetoculture is the keeping of live reptiles and amphibians in captivity, whether as a hobby or as a commercial breeding operation. "Herps" is an informal term for both reptiles and amphibians, shortened from the scientific umbrella term “her ...

hobby, they are often distinguished by two color 'phases' that appear genetically inherited, the 'garden phase' and the 'colored phase'. The 'garden phase' refers to boas with drab coloration, mostly brown or olive, with varied patterning, while the 'colored phase' refers to animals with combinations of red, orange, and yellow coloring. Corallus hortulanus head, Peru.jpg, adult in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Corallushortulanus.png, juvenile in Peru

Geographic range

The range of ''Corallus hortulana'' stretches from southern Central America, across northern South America, southeast to the Tropic of Cancer in Brazil. Amazon tree boas are found in a wide variety of habitats. They are common in arboreal regions with high humidity, especially Amazon rainforest. They can also be found in dry areas such as savannas or dry forests. Most studied ''Corallus hortulana'' specimens are found 2 m or more above the ground in trees or other vegetation. They have also been observed feeding and reproducing on the ground. Amazon tree boas are also relatively common along rivers. They occupy forest, rainforest and scrub forest

terrestrial Biomes Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...

and are especially associated with

Riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

habitats. They range from 0 to 900 m in elevation, though typically found below 300 m elevation.

Diet

Like all other

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 anaconda ...

, Amazon Tree Boas feed by constricting whole, live prey. They have long teeth which help it to catch potentially flying prey while in trees. The diet is described as being "very euryphagic", which means it consumes a wide variety of prey. In the wild the species has been observed to consume all manner of vertebrate prey, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and possibly even fish. "More than 50% of the individuals fed on prey weighing up to 20% of their own body mass and about 20% preyed on animals weighing from 40-95% of their masses." In terms of absolute mass, adults fed on larger prey items, while younger specimens ate proportionally larger food items. It has been suggested that there is an

ontogenetic Ontogeny (also ontogenesis) is the origination and development of an organism (both physical and psychological, e.g., moral development), usually from the time of fertilization of the egg to adult. The term can also be used to refer to the stu ...

change in general prey preferences with younger individuals preferring reptiles and amphibians while adults eat almost exclusively birds and mammals.

Reproduction

Amazon Tree Boas, like other Boas are ovoviparous, which means they give birth to live young. The reproductive season of ''Corallus hortulana'' can vary between locations, and has variously been attributed to food availability and seasonal conditions. During copulation, the male entangles about 30% of its body around the female and performs movements with his head, including rubbing the chin against the female’s neck and head. In captivity, two males copulated for ~37 minutes with a female, without engaging in combat. After a gestation period of 6–7 months, females give birth from 2–29 young that measure 28.2–64.4 cm in total length. Though the species has a wide distribution and is relatively abundant, comparatively little is known about its reproduction in the wild. There have been 4 documented cases of Amazon Tree Boas copulating in the wild. Surprisingly, though primarily arboreal and nocturnal, Amazon Tree Boas have been documented mating during the day and night as well as in the canopy and on the ground. Two daytime observations were in the trees, while two were on the ground.

Captivity

While Amazon tree boas are encountered relatively frequently in the pet industry, they have a notoriously irritable temperament, do not hesitate to bite, and have specific care requirements. As such, they are not recommended for inexperienced keepers.

References

External links

* {{Authority control hortulana Reptiles of Bolivia Snakes of Brazil Reptiles of Colombia Reptiles of Ecuador Reptiles of French Guiana Reptiles of Guyana Reptiles of Peru Reptiles of Venezuela Fauna of the Amazon Reptiles described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN