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Tropidophis

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Tropidophis
Tropidophis melanurus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Tropidophiidae
Genus: Tropidophis
Bibron In
de la Sagra, 1843
Synonyms
  • Tropidophis Bibron In
    de la Sagra, 1843
  • Leionotus Bibron In
    de la Sagra, 1843
  • Ungalia Gray, 1842
  • Erycopsis Fitzinger, 1843
  • Notophis Hallowell, 1856
  • Ungalia Cope, 1868[1]

Tropidophis, common name Caribbean dwarf boas, wood snakes or West Indian wood snakes,[2] is a genus of dwarf boas[3] endemic to the West Indies and South America. Currently, either 17 or 33 species are recognized, depending on the authority.[3]

Description

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Adults grow to between 30 and 60 cm (12 and 24 in) in total length (including tail). They are secretive and predominantly terrestrial, found in a variety of natural habitats, including rain forest, swamps, pine woods and scrub, as well as in the vicinity of human habitation. They have an interesting defensive habit of Autohaemorrhaging from the mouth, nostrils and eyes when disturbed.[4] Some species also change colour over the course of the day.[4]

Despite their relatively small size and secretive nature, some species may be susceptible to extirpation, mainly due to habitat alteration and introduced feral animals. The Navassa Island dwarf boa (T. bucculentus) has not been seen for 100 years and is believed to be extinct.

Distribution and habitat

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Found in the West Indies, including Cuba, and in South America (Brazil, Peru and Ecuador).[1]

Species

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Species[3] Taxon author[3] Subsp.*[3] Common name Geographic range[1]
Tropidophis battersbyi Laurent, 1949 0 Battersby's dwarf boa Ecuador
Tropidophis bucculentus (Cope, 1868) 0 Navassa Island dwarf boa Navassa Island
Tropidophis canus (Cope, 1868) 3 Bahamian pygmy boa constrictor the Bahamas
Tropidophis caymanensis Battersby, 1938 2 Cayman Islands dwarf boa the Cayman Islands
Tropidophis feicki Schwartz, 1957 0 broad-banded dwarf boa western Cuba
Tropidophis fuscus Hedges & Garrido, 1992 0 Cuban dusky dwarf boa northeastern Cuba
Tropidophis greenwayi Barbour & Shreve, 1936 1 Caicos Islands dwarf boa the Caicos Islands
Tropidophis haetianus (Cope, 1879) 5 Haitian dwarf boa Hispaniola and adjacent islands
Tropidophis maculatus (Bibron, 1840) 0 spotted red dwarf boa western Cuba
Tropidophis melanurusT (Schlegel, 1837) 2 dusky dwarf boa Cuba and adjacent islands
Tropidophis nigriventris Bailey, 1937 0 black-bellied dwarf boa central Cuba
Tropidophis pardalis (Gundlach, 1840) 0 leopard dwarf boa Cuba and adjacent islands
Tropidophis paucisquamis (F. Müller, 1901) 0 Brazilian dwarf boa Brazil in Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo
Tropidophis pilsbryi Bailey, 1937 1 Cuban white-necked dwarf boa central and eastern Cuba
Tropidophis semicinctus (Gundlach & W. Peters, 1864) 0 yellow-banded dwarf boa western and central Cuba
Tropidophis taczanowskyi (Steindachner, 1880) 0 Taczanowski's dwarf boa Amazonian Peru and Ecuador
Tropidophis wrighti Stull, 1928 0 Wright's dwarf boa eastern Cuba

T) Type species.[1]

The Reptile Database includes these further species:[5]

Species[5] Taxon author[5] Subsp.*[5] Common name Geographic range[5]
Tropidophis cacuangoae (Hedges, Estrada & Díaz, 1999) 0 Ecuador
Tropidophis celiae (Hedges, Estrada & Díaz, 1999) 0 Canasi dwarf boa Cuba and adjacent islands
Tropidophis curtus (Garman, 1887) 0 Northern Bahamas dwarf boa the Bahamas
Tropidophis galacelidus Schwartz & Garrido, 1975 0 Escambray white-necked dwarf boa central Cuba
Tropidophis grapiuna Curcio, Sales-Nunes, Suzart-Argolo, Skuk & Rodrigues, 2012 0 Brazil
Tropidophis hardyi Schwartz & Garrido, 1975 0 Escambray small-headed dwarf boa Cuba
Tropidophis hendersoni Hedges & Garrido, 2002 0 Cuban khaki dwarf boa Cuba
Tropidophis jamaicensis Stull, 1928 0 Jamaican dwarf boa Jamaica
Tropidophis leonae Landestoy, 2023 0 Jaragua golden trope Dominican Republic
Tropidophis morenoi Hedges, Garrido & Díaz, 2001 0 zebra dwarf boa Cuba
Tropidophis parkeri Grant, 1941 0 Parker's dwarf boa[6] Little Cayman Island
Tropidophis preciosus Curcio, Sales Nunes, Suzart Argolo, Skuk & Rodrigues, 2012 0 Brazil
Tropidophis schwartzi Thomas, 1963 0 Schwartz's dwarf boa[6] the Cayman Islands
Tropidophis spiritus Hedges & Garrido, 1999 0 Sancti Spíritus dwarf boa Cuba
Tropidophis steinleini Díaz & Cádiz, 2020 0 Cuba
Tropidophis stejnegeri Grant, 1940 0 Stejneger's dwarf boa northern Jamaica
Tropidophis stullae Grant, 1940 0 Stull's dwarf boa southern Jamaica
Tropidophis xanthogaster Domínguez, Moreno & Hedges, 2006 0 Guanahacabibes dwarf boa Cuba

There are currently 33 species, in which 26 of them are West Indian and 15 of them are Cuban. The 15 species in Cuba are the most diverse.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d 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).
  2. ^ Parker HW, Grandison AGC (1977). Snakes — a Natural History. Second Edition. London and Ithaca: British Museum (Natural History) and Cornell University Press. 108 pp. + 16 plates. LCCCN 76-54625. ISBN 0-8014-1095-9 (cloth), ISBN 0-8014-9164-9 (paper).
  3. ^ a b c d e "Tropidophis ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
  4. ^ a b Domínguez, Michel; Luis V. Moreno; S. Blair Hedges (August 2006). "A new snake of the genus Tropidophis (Tropidophiidae) from the Guanahacabibes Peninsula of Western Cuba". Amphibia-Reptilia. 27 (3): 427–432. doi:10.1163/156853806778190088.
  5. ^ a b c d e Tropidophis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 29 June 2020.
  6. ^ a b 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. (Tropidophis parkeri, p. 200; T. schwartzi, p. 239).
  7. ^ Hedges, S. Blair (November 2002). "Morphological variation and the definition of species in the snake genus Tropidophis (Serpentes, Tropidophiidae)". Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, Zoology Series. 68 (2): 83–90. doi:10.1017/S0968047002000092. ISSN 1475-2980.

Further reading

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  • Bibron G (1843). In: de la Sagra R (1843). Historia fisica, politica y natural de la isla de Cuba. Segunda parte historia natural. Tomo IV. Reptiles y peces. Paris: Bertrand. 255 pp. + Plates I-V. (Tropidophis, new genus, p. 124). (in Spanish).
  • 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. (Genus Ungalia [=Tropidophis], p. 110).
  • Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Genus Tropidophis, pp. 44, 80, 88, 188).
  • 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. (12 species of Tropidophis, pp. 191–196).
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