''Candoia carinata'', known commonly as the Pacific ground boa, Pacific keel-scaled boa, or Indonesian tree boa, is a

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), ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

Distribution and habitat

''C. carinata'' is found in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, and the

Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about . History The first inhabitants of the archipela ...

In captivity

''C. carinata'' is popular as a pet in Indonesia, where it is known by the common name ''monopohon'' (''pohon'' means "tree" in the Indonesian language).

Subspecies

''Candoia carinata carinata''

While the

nominate subspecies In 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), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

, ''C. c. carinata'', may be occasionally found in trees, this Papuan snake is most often found on the ground. 784 pp. . (''Candoia paulsoni'', pp. 582, 595).

''Candoia carinata paulsoni''

Males of ''C. c. paulsoni'' are smaller and lighter than females, and show spurs. Males are long, and in weight. Females are generally in length and weigh . The colour varies from dark brown to auburn with distinct patterns, though there is also the color morph "''paulsoni santa isabella'' ", which is white. The subspecies ''C. c. paulsoni'' was elevated to species status as '' Candoia paulsoni'' by H.M. Smith, et al. in 2001.

''Candoia carinata tepedeleni''

Commonly known as Tepedelen's bevel-nosed boa.

Etymology

The specific name or

subspecific name In biology, trinomial nomenclature is the system of names for taxa below the rank of species. These names have three parts. The usage is different in zoology and botany. In zoology In zoological nomenclature, a trinomen (), trinominal name, or ...

, ''paulsoni'', is in honour of Swedish

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

John Paulson.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Candoia paulsoni'', p. 202; ''Candoia carinata tepedeleni'', p. 263).). The subspecific name, ''tepedeleni'', is in honour of herpetologist Kumaran Tepedelen.