Using data for 8 of the 9 species of Corallus (excluding C. cropanii), the chart below depicts the differences in weights of newborn neonates. It should be no surprise the smallest species are those neonates that initially start feeding on ectothermic prey items (Anolis).
Of the 9 species in the genus Corallus, C. ruschenbergerii (Cope, 1875) is one of three species least understood. Two litters of insular C. ruschenbergerii were born on 14 November and 15 November, 2021. Litter sizes were 12 live/one stillborn and 13 live respectively. Neither litter contained any unfertilized ovum.
Average neonate weight for the first litter is 16.20 grams. All neonates were patterned in various shades of orange. All neonates underwent their first shed from days 9 through 13 after birth.
Average neonate weight for the 2nd litter is 17.19 grams. All neonates underwent their first shed from days 9 through 13 after birth. All neonates were patterned. Interestingly, two different color forms were present in this litter: nine newborns displayed various shades of orange and 4 were gray. This is the first time color heterogeneity is reported in an insular C. ruschenbergerii litter.
Compare these two litters with one litter born last year that consisted of all patternless neonates with the same shade of orange.
For more information and photos, visit the chapter on C. ruschenbergerii here.
This particular issue has four articles on the Genus Tropidophis. They are:
Giant dwarfs: Very large giant tropes Tropidophis melanurus (Squamata: Tropidophiidae), and new maximum size records for the species.
https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/view/15965
New prey records for two snakes of the genus Tropidophis (Tropidophiidae) from urban habitats in La Habana, Cuba.
https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/view/15858
Predation on murid rodents by the Giant Trope, Tropidophis melanurus (Squamata: Tropidophiidae), with comments on predation of mammals by snakes of the genus Tropidophis
https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/view/15876
Westernmost record of the Spotted Red Trope, Tropidophis maculatus (Squamata: Tropidophiidae), with comments on the Tropidophis species assemblage from the Guanahacabibes Peninsula.
https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/view/15857
Individual PDF’s can be downloaded from each link.
Jamaican Boas have been bred as a measure of conservation since the 1970s. Today the species is still listed as Vulnerable (VU) by IUCN and listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The species is currently kept by multiple zoos and aquaria as well as private breeders. We sum up the annual breedings of this boa that we are aware of. Westindianboas.org provided over the years several breeders with breeding stock animals in the US. Unfortunately, restrictions make the export of this species unnecessarily difficult. Considering the good breeding successes on both sides of the Atlantic, it should be in the interest of conservation to exchange genetic material and thus continue to maintain a diverse genetic foundation for conservation.
Several litters of the Jamaican Boa, Chilabothrus subflavus, were born this season in the US, the UK and the EU. This particular litter, shown below, was born 9 September, 2021. Produced by Rob Stone of the US, the litter numbered 17 live with no stillborn or unfertilized ovum. Neonate weights ranged from 10.83 g to 13.93 g, with a mean of 12.98 g. SVL of the neonates was 25.72 cm to 33.18 cm, with a mean of 30.13 cm.
The Jamaican Boa is highly variable in color and pattern; the ontogenetic color change will take 18 – 24 months to complete.
The following litters were also produced during the 2021 season:
Visit the chapter for the Jamaican Boa here for more in depth information and photos.
A small litter of Corallus cookii, born September 26 at approximately 10:00 p.m., consisted of six live neonates, three small unfertilized ovum and no stillborn. The neonates weighed 5.51 g to 14.09 g with an average weight of 11.86 g. The female moved away from the heat source immediately after shedding on 16 September. She also dropped a large quantity of pre-birth material in the bowel movement.
There is a variety of pattern and color between the neonates, though this polymorphism is not as pronounced as it is with C. hortunalus or C. grenadensis.
The female boa, once finished with parturition, consumed all three unfertilized ovum-possibly the first time this behavior has been documented in the species.
A total of three litters was produced in 2021:
For more photos and a complete overview of the species, view the C. cookii chapter.
The purpose of this work and its contents is to provide a public and permanent scientific record.
~ Jeff Murray & Michael Saina
A small litter of seven live, 1 stillborn and six unfertilized ovum was laid on 28 August. They will now be separated, individually set up and assist fed small anoles for the first 3 or 4 meals until they take anoles on their own. They undergo the same ontogenetic color change as other boas in the genus-they will look entirely different as adults. In the EU Johan Versluis had a litter of four live, two stillborn and several unfertilized ovum, born on 22 September. The babies weighed 4.85g to 6.03g, with an average weight of
See the Chapter on Corallus grenadensis for more in depth information on the genus and species in particular.
“It is the herp department, more than any other at the zoo that contributes outside the perimeter fence.”
~David Grow
In 1990 Dr. Richard Ross and Gerald Marzec published 10 years of data in what was to become the first book to provide detailed research on maintaining and breeding pythons and boas. The West Indian Boas are included in depth-a first for the genus. A must read for any serious student of Boidae.