Chilabothrus granti

Chilabothrus granti
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Endangered  (ESA) [2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Boidae
Genus:	Chilabothrus
Species:	C. granti
Binomial name
Chilabothrus granti (Stull, 1933)
Synonyms [3]
Epicrates inornatus grantiStull, 1933 Epicrates monensis granti Sheplan & Schwartz, 1974 Epicrates granti Platenberg & D.S. Harvey, 2010 Chilabothros granti Rodríguez-Robles et al., 2015

Chilabothrus granti, also known commonly as the Virgin Islands boa, is a species of snake in the family Boidae. The species is native to the Caribbean.

Etymology

The specific name, granti, is in honor of American herpetologist Chapman Grant. ^[4]

Geographic range

C. granti is found in Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. ^[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of C. granti are forest and shrubland at altitudes from sea level to 100 m (330 ft), but it has also been found in gardens. ^[1]

Diet

C. granti preys upon frogs (including Cuban tree frogs), lizards ( Anolis and Iguana ), and other snakes. ^[1]

Predation

In Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands boas may be eaten by some growth stage of invasive boa constrictors. ^[5]

Reproduction

C. granti is viviparous. ^[3]

References

1. Platenberg, R. (2021). "Chilabothrus granti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T7829A18979910. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T7829A18979910.en . Retrieved 4 May 2025.
2. "Virgin Islands tree boa (Chilabothrus granti)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
3. Chilabothrus granti at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 16 December 2014.
4. 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 monensis granti, p. 106).
5. Final environmental assessment for the large constrictor snakes listed as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act (PDF). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. January 2012.

Further reading

• Platenberg RJ, Harvey DS (2010). "Endangered species and land use conflicts: a case study of the Virgin Islands Boa (Epicrates granti)". Herpetological Conservation and Biology5: 548–554. (Epicrates granti, new taxonomic status).
• Rodríguez-Robles JA, Jezkova T, Fujita MK, Tolson PJ, García MA (2015). "Genetic divergence and diversity in the Mona and Virgin Islands Boas, Chilabothrus monensis (Epicrates monensis) (Serpentes: Boidae), West Indian snakes of special conservation concern". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution18: 144–153. (Chilabothrus granti, new combination).
• Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distribution, and Natural History. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. ISBN   978-0813010496.
• 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 monensis granti, p. 185).
• Sheplan BR, Schwartz A (1974). "Hispaniolan boas of the genus Epicrates (Serpentes, Boidae) and their Antillean relationships". Annals of the Carnegie Museum45: 57–143. (Epicrates monensis granti, new combination, pp. 102–104).
• Stull OG (1933). "Two new subspecies of the family Boidae". Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology University of Michigan (267): 1–4. (Epicrates inornatus granti, new subspecies).