Epicrates striatus

Epicrates striatus
Captive Epicrates striatus in a terrarium.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Suborder:Serpentes
Family:Boidae
Genus:Epicrates
Species: E. striatus
Binomial name
Epicrates striatus
(J.G. Fischer, 1856)
Synonyms[1]
  • Homalochilus striatus
    J.G. Fischer, 1856
  • Epicrates striatus
    — Steindachner, 1864
  • Chilabothrus striatus
    — Reynolds et al., 2013

Epicrates striatus, known commonly as the Hispaniolan boa, is a species of snake in the family Boidae.[2] The species is endemic to the West Indies.

Distribution and habitat

Epicrates striatus is found in The Bahamas, the Bimini Islands, and on Hispaniola.

Subspecies

Close-up of head of Epicrates striatus showing vertical pupil characteristic of the genus Epicrates.

Eight subspecies are recognized including the nominotypical subspecies.[3]

  • Epicrates striatus striatus (J.G. Fischer, 1856) – Hispaniolan or Dominican red mountain boa
  • Epicrates striatus ailurus Sheplan & Schwartz, 1974 – Cat Island Boa
  • Epicrates striatus exagistus Sheplan & Schwartz, 1974 – Tiburon Peninsula boa
  • Epicrates striatus fosteri Barbour, 1941 – Bimini Island boa
  • Epicrates striatus fowleri Sheplan & Schwartz, 1974 – Andros Island or Bahamian boa
  • Epicrates striatus mccraniei Sheplan & Schwartz, 1974 – Ragged Island Boa
  • Epicrates striatus strigilatus (Cope, 1863) – New Providence Island boa
  • Epicrates striatus warreni Sheplan & Schwartz, 1974 – Tortuga boa

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

Etymology

The subspecific name, fowleri is in honor of herpetologist Danny C. Fowler.[4] The subspecific name, warreni, is in honor of Mr. C. Rhea Warren who collected herpetological specimens on Île de la Tortue.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Chilabothrus striatus ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. ↑ "Epicrates ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  3. ↑ 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 striatus, pp. 186-186).
  4. 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 striatus fowleri, p. 93; Epicrates striatus warreni, p. 280).

Further reading

  • 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 striatus, pp. 96-97).
  • Fischer JG (1856). "Neue Schlangen des Hamburgischen Naturhistorischen Museums ". Abhandlungen aus dem Gebiete der Naturwissenschaften Verein in Hamburg 3 (4): 79-116. (Homalochilus striatus, new species, pp. 102–106 + Plate II, Figures 2a & 2b). (in German).
  • Sheplan BR, Schwartz A (1974). "Hispaniolan Boas of the genus Epicrates (Serpentes, Boidae) and their Antillean relationships". Annals of Carnegie Museum of Natural History 45: 57-143.


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