Pseudoboa neuwiedii

Pseudoboa neuwiedii, commonly known as the ratonel or ratonera (mouse-eater), is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to northern South America.[3]

Pseudoboa neuwiedii
Pseudoboa neuwiedii in a house in El Limón, Venezuela
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Pseudoboa
Species:
P. neuwiedii
Binomial name
Pseudoboa neuwiedii
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Scytale neuwiedii
    A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron &
    A.H.A. Duméril, 1854
  • Olisthenes euphæus
    Cope, 1859
  • Rhinocheilus thominoti
    Bocourt, 1887
  • Oxyrhopus neuwiedii
    — Boulenger, 1896
  • Pseudoboa robinsoni
    Stejneger, 1902
  • Pseudoboa neuweidii
    — Stejneger, 1902

Geographic range

Pseudoboa neuwiedii is found on the mainland of South America from Colombia to The Guianas, and in Brazil along the Amazon River,[4] as well as in Grenada,[5] and Trinidad and Tobago.[3]

Etymology

The specific name, neuwiedii, is in honor of German naturalist Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied.[6]

Description

Pseudoboa neuwiedii grows to a maximum total length (including tail) of 1 m (39 in).[3]

Dorsally, it is reddish brown, either uniform or with some scattered small black spots. The top of the head and neck are black or dark brown. There may or may not be a yellowish crossband or collar across the temples and occiput. Ventrally, it is yellowish.[2]

Behavior

Pseudoboa neuwiedii is a powerful constrictor.[3]

Diet

Pseudoboa neuwiedii feeds on any animal it can capture and subdue. Individuals have been reported to consume snakes as large as or larger than they themselves are.[3]

Reproduction

P. neuwiedii is oviparous. [1]

References
  1. Species Pseudoboa neuwiedii at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
  2. Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Oxyrhopus neuwiedii, pp. 112-113).
  3. Boos, Hans E. A. (2001). The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 1-58544-116-3.
  4. Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. (Pseudoboa neuwiedii, p. 107).
  5. 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. ("Pseudoboa neuwiedi [sic]", p. 190).
  6. 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. (Pseudoboa neuwiedii, p. 189).

Further reading
  • Duméril A-M-C, Bibron G, Duméril A[-H-A] (1854). Erpétology générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Deuxième partie. [= General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of Reptiles. Volume Seven. Part Two]. Paris: Roret. pp. xi + 781-1536. (Scytale neuwiedii, new species, pp. 1001-1002). (in French).


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