Tropidophis feicki

Tropidophis feicki
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Tropidophiidae
Genus:	Tropidophis
Species:	T. feicki
Binomial name
Tropidophis feicki Schwartz, 1957

Tropidophis feicki, also known commonly as the broad-banded dwarf boa, the broad-banded trope, and Feick's dwarf boa, is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Tropidophiidae. ^[2] The species is endemic to Cuba. ^{[3] [4]}

Etymology

The specific name, feicki, is in honor of American biologist John R. Feick. ^[5]

Description

T. feicki males can grow to 41 cm (16 in) snout-to-vent length (SVL), and females to 45 cm (18 in) SVL. ^{[4] [6]} There are 217–235 ventral scales and 34–41 subcaudal scales. The dorsal ground color is grey or pink. There is a saddle pattern dorsally, but no ventral pattern. ^[6]

Geographic range

T. feicki is found in western Cuba, from Pedrera de Mendoza and Guane, Pinar del Río Province, east to Pan de Matanzas, Matanzas Province. ^[7]

Habitat

The preferred habitat of T. feicki is rocky areas such as upland caves, cliffs, and talus deposits, ^[7] within forest, at altitudes from sea level to 400 m (1,300 ft). ^[1]

Behavior

T. feicki is arboreal. ^[6]

Diet

T. feicki preys upon small species of lizards. ^[4]

Reproduction

T. feicki is viviparous. ^[4]

References

1. Fong A (2021). "Tropidophis feicki ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T75606446A75608004.en. Accessed on 22 February 2023.
2. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (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). (Tropidophis feicki, p. 218).
3. "Tropidophis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 29 August 2007.
4. Tropidophis feicki at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 26 June 2017.
5. 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. (Tropidophis feicki, p. 88).
6. Hedges, S. Blair (2002). "Morphological variation and the definition of species in the snake genus Tropidophis (Serpentes, Tropidophiidae)" (PDF). Bulletin of the Natural History Museum. Zoology Series. 68. London: 83–90. doi:10.1017/S0968047002000092.
7. 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. (Tropidophis feicki, p. 192).

Further reading

• García-Padrón, L. Yusnaviel (2022). "Maximum Size and a New Dietary Record for the Broad-banded Trope , Tropidophis feicki (Squamata: Tropidophiidae), in Cuba". Reptiles & Amphibians29 (1): 270–272.
• Rodríguez-Cabrera TM, Torres J, Morell-Savall E (2020). "Easternmost record of the Cuban Broad-banded Trope, Tropidophis feicki (Squamata: Tropidophiidae)". Caribbean Herpetology71: 1–3.
• Schwartz A (1957). "A New Species of Boa (Genus Tropidophis) from Western Cuba". American Museum Novitates (1839): 1-8. (Tropidophis feicki, new species).
• Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. ISBN   978-0813010496. (Tropidophis feicki, p. 633).