Sanzinia madagascariensis

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Sanzinia madagascariensis
Madagascar Ground Boa (Sanzinia madagascariensis) (7629832256).jpg
CITES Appendix I (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Boidae
Genus: Sanzinia
Species:
S. madagascariensis
Binomial name
Sanzinia madagascariensis
Synonyms
  • Xiphosoma madagascarienseA.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844
  • Sanzinia madagascariensis
    — Gray, 1849
  • Corallus madagascariensis
    — Boulenger, 1893
  • Boa mandritaKluge, 1991 (replacement name) [3]
  • Sanzinia madagascariensis
    — Glaw & Vences, 1994
  • Boa mandrita
    — McDiarmid, Campbell & Touré, 1999
  • Sanzinia madagascariensis
    — Andreone et al., 2000
  • Sanzinia madagascariensis
    — Vences et al., 2001 [4]
Peyrieras Reptile Reserve, Madagascar Madagascar tree boa (Sanzinia madagascariensis) head Peyrieras.jpg
Peyrieras Reptile Reserve, Madagascar

Sanzinia madagascariensis, also known as the Madagascar tree boa or Malagasy tree boa, [5] is a boa species endemic to the island of Madagascar. It was once considered conspecific with the Nosy Komba ground boa (Sanzinia volontany). Like all other boas, it is non-venomous.

Contents

Description

Sanzinia madagascariensis Madagascar Tree Boa Image 003.jpg
Sanzinia madagascariensis

Adults average 4–5 feet (122–152 cm) in length, although 6–7 foot (183–213 cm) specimens are not uncommon. Thermoreceptive pits are located between the labial scales. [5] Females are larger than males.

It is greenish in colour and is found on the eastern side of Madagascar. [6]

Distribution and habitat

Endemic to Madagascar. The type locality given is "Madagascar". [3] Favors trees and shrubs near streams, rivers, ponds and swamps. [5]

Conservation status

This species was classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2006 [1] with the following criteria: A1cd (v2.3, 1994). This means that a population reduction of at least 20% has been observed, estimated, inferred or suspected over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on a decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat, and based on actual or potential levels of exploitation. [7] It is now listed as Least Concern (LC) as it is widespread, present in heavily degraded habitats and it is not subject to any known or suspected threats. [1]

Also listed as CITES Appendix I, which means that it is threatened with extinction and CITES prohibits international trade except when the purpose of the import is not commercial, for example for scientific research. [8]

Feeding

Arboreal and generally nocturnal, S. madagascariensis feeds on mammals and birds. Its thermoreceptive pits help it to locate its prey. It will also leave the trees to actively hunt for small mammals on the ground. [5]

Reproduction

Ovoviviparous, females give birth to up to 12 young at a time, each about 15 inches (38 cm) in length. [5]

When females become gravid, their skin color darkens. This adaptation provides increased heat absorption for the developing young. After giving birth, the color returns to normal as soon as the female next sheds her skin. Neonates are a bright red that may warn predators to "stay away", while simultaneously providing camouflage among brightly colored treetop flowers.

Taxonomy

When Kluge (1991) moved Sanzinia madagascariensis(A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844) to Boa together with Acrantophis madagascariensis (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844), it resulted in homonymy. To fix this nomenclatural problem, he proposed the specific name manditra as a replacement for S. madagascariensis. [3]

It has since been shown that the Madagascar boids and the ones of the genus Boa do not form a monophyletic group, [9] [10] [11] so that the lumping of Sanzinia, Acrantophis and Boa was incorrect, and the name Sanzinia madagascariensis is therefore the correct name for this species.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boidae</span> Family of snakes

The Boidae, commonly known as boas or boids, are a family of nonvenomous snakes primarily found in the Americas, as well as Africa, Europe, Asia, and some Pacific islands. Boas include some of the world's largest snakes, with the green anaconda of South America being the heaviest and second-longest snake known; in general, adults are medium to large in size, with females usually larger than the males. Six subfamilies comprising 15 genera and 54 species are currently recognized.

<i>Uroplatus</i> Genus of lizards

Uroplatus is a genus of geckos, commonly referred to as leaf-tail geckos or flat-tailed geckos, which are endemic to Madagascar and its coastal islands, such as Nosy Be. They are nocturnal, insectivorous lizards found exclusively in primary and secondary forest.

<i>Boa</i> (genus) Genus of snakes

Boa is a genus of boas found in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Five extant species, and one extinct, are currently recognized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hognose</span> Common name for several snake species

Hognose snake is a common name for several unrelated species of snakes with upturned snouts, classified in two colubrid snake families and one pseudoxyrhophiid snake family.

<i>Leioheterodon</i> Genus of snakes


Leioheterodon is a genus of harmless pseudoxyrhophiid snakes found only on the island of Madagascar. Three species are currently recognized. Common names include Malagasy hognose snakes, Malagasy brown snakes and Malagasy menarana snakes.

<i>Acrantophis dumerili</i> Species of snake

Acrantophis dumerili, commonly known as Dumeril's boa, is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Boidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Acrantophis</i> Genus of snakes

Acrantophis is a genus of terrestrial boid snakes endemic to the island of Madagascar.

<i>Acrantophis madagascariensis</i> Species of snake

Acrantophis madagascariensis is a species of boid snake in the subfamily Sanziniinae that is endemic to the island of Madagascar. Its common names include the Madagascar ground boa and Malagasy ground boa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boinae</span> Subfamily of snakes

The Boinae are a purported subfamily of boas found in Central and South America, as well as the West Indies. In the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), Boinae is considered an invalid synonym of Boidae.

Xenotyphlops grandidieri is a species of blind snake in the family Xenotyphlopidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

<i>Corallus cropanii</i> Species of snake

Corallus cropanii, or Cropani's tree boa, is a species of boa, a snake in the family Boidae. The species is endemic to the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Like all boas, it is not venomous. No subspecies are currently recognized. Until 2017, no specimen of this snake had been seen alive since 1953 and only five dead specimens had been collected since then, but in late January 2017, an adult female Cropan's tree boa measuring 1.7 m was captured by locals in Ribeira who brought it to herpetologists from the Instituto Butantan and the Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo, who radio-tagged and released the animal to learn more about the species' behavior.

<i>Leioheterodon madagascariensis</i> Species of snake

Leioheterodon madagascariensis, the Malagasy Giant Hognose or Madagascar Giant Hognose, is a harmless species of snake that can be found in Madagascar, Nosy Be, Nosy Sakatia and Comoros Islands. They can grow from 130 to 180 cm. It is thought by some to have been introduced to the Grande Comoro.

<i>Ithycyphus miniatus</i> Species of snake

Ithycyphus miniatus is a species of mildly venomous snake in the family Pseudoxyrhophiidae. The species is native to Madagascar.

<i>Calumma nasutum</i> Species of lizard

Calumma nasutum, the Madagascar pimple-nose chameleon, is a small species of chameleon found in Madagascar. The taxonomic identity of the species is currently uncertain and in need of revision, and this revision is likely to result in several newly described species. Several different data sets indicate that C. nasutum is a complex of several species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanziniinae</span> Subfamily of snakes

The Sanziniinae are a subfamily of boid snakes containing four species endemic to the island of Madagascar. Common names include Madagascar boas and Malagasy boas.

Phisalixella is a genus of pseudoxyrhophiid snakes endemic to the island of Madagascar. They are harmless to humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nosy Komba ground boa</span> Species of snake

The Nosy Komba ground boa is a boa species endemic to the island of Madagascar. It is brownish in colour and is found on the western side of the island. It was once considered conspecific with the Madagascar tree boa. Like all other boas, it is not venomous.

<i>Thamnosophis stumpffi</i> Species of snake

Thamnosophis stumpffi, commonly known as the yellow-striped water snake, is a species of snake in the subfamily Pseudoxyrhophiinae of the family Pseudoxyrhophiidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.

<i>Trachylepis gravenhorstii</i> Species of lizard

Trachylepis gravenhorstii, also known commonly as Gravenhorst's mabuya, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Vences, M.; Raxworthy, C.J.; Rakotondravony, H.; Rafanomezantsoa, J. (2011). "Sanzinia madagascariensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2011: e.T19900A9109451. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T19900A9109451.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. 1 2 3 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 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).
  4. ↑ Sanzinia at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 17 February 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN   0-8069-6460-X.
  6. ↑ Glaw, Frank; Vences, Miguel (2007). A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar (3rd ed.). Köln: M. Vences & F. Glaw Verlags GbR. ISBN   978-3-929449-03-7.
  7. ↑ 1994 Categories & Criteria (version 2.3) at the IUCN Red List . Accessed 10 July 2008.
  8. ↑ Sanzinia madagascariensis Archived 2009-08-14 at the Wayback Machine at CITES and United Nations Environment Programme / World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Accessed 10 July 2008.
  9. ↑ Vences, Miguel; Glaw, F.; Kosuch, J.; Boehme, W.; Veith, M. (2001). "Phylogeny of South American and Malagasy boine snakes: Molecular evidence for the validity of Sanzinia and Acrantophis and biogeographic implications". Copeia. 2001 (4): 1151–1154. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2001)001[1151:posaam]2.0.co;2. S2CID   44076660.
  10. ↑ Noonan, Brice; Chippindale, P. (2006). "Dispersal and vicariance: The complex evolutionary history of boid snakes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 40 (2): 347–358. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.03.010. PMID   16624591.
  11. ↑ Reynolds, R.G.; Niemiller, M.L.; Revell, L.J. (2014). "Toward a Tree-of-Life for the boas and pythons: Multilocus species-level phylogeny with unprecedented taxon sampling". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 71: 201–213. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.011. PMID   24315866.

Further reading

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