Epicrates fordii

Epicrates fordii
illustration by G.H. Ford,
for whom this species is named
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Suborder:Serpentes
Family:Boidae
Genus:Epicrates
Species: E. fordii
Binomial name
Epicrates fordii
(Günther, 1861)
Synonyms[1][2]

Epicrates fordii, known commonly as Ford's boa[3] or the Haitian ground boa, is a species of snake in the family Boidae.[4]

Geographic range

E. fordii is found on the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), and on the islets of Île de la Gonâve, Isla Saona, and Île à Cabrit in the Gulf of Gonâve.

Etymology

The specific name, fordii, is in honor of South African-born George Henry Ford,[3] artist at the British Museum (Natural History), "whose merits in herpetology are well known by his truly artistical [sic] drawings".[5]

Description

Epicrates fordii is a medium-sized snake. Adults may attain a total length of 74 cm (29 1⁄8 in), which includes a tail 12.5 cm (4 7⁄8 in) long.

Dorsally it has a ground color that is pale olive, yellowish, or reddish, overlaid by a series of transverse dark brown blotches, which are oval or kidney-shaped, with blackish borders. Some of these blotches may merge to form a wide wavy stripe in some places. Ventrally it is yellowish, with small brown spots.

The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 33-43 rows. Ventrals 250-265; anal plate entire; subcaudals 70-80 also entire.

On the dorsal surface of the head, the large frontal contacts the supraoculars; the remainder is covered by small irregular plates. There are 13 or 14 upper labials, without labial pits.[1]

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominate race.

  • Epicrates fordii fordii (Günther, 1861)
  • Epicrates fordii agametus Sheplan & Schwartz, 1974
  • Epicrates fordii manototus Schwartz, 1979

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Epicrates.

References

  1. 1 2 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. (Epicrates fordii, p. 98).
  2. ↑ 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. ("Epicrates fordi [sic]", p. 184).
  3. 1 2 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. ("Epicrates fordi [sic]", p. 92).
  4. ↑ "Epicrates ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  5. ↑ Günther A (1861). "On a New Species of the Family Boidae". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1861: 142 + Plate XXIII. (Pelophilus fordii, new species).


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