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Chilabothrus strigilatus (COPE, 1862)

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Higher TaxaBoidae (Boinae), Henophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesChilabothrus strigilatus ailurus SHEPLAN & SCHWARTZ 1974
Chilabothrus strigilatus fosteri BARBOUR 1941
Chilabothrus strigilatus fowleri SHEPLAN & SCHWARTZ 1974
Chilabothrus strigilatus mccraniei SHEPLAN & SCHWARTZ 1974
Chilabothrus strigilatus strigilatus (COPE 1863) 
Common NamesE: Bahamian Boa; strigilatus: Bahamian boa; ailurus: Cat Island boa; fosteri: Bimini boa; fowleri: Andros boa; maccraniei: Ragged Island boa
G: Bahama-Boa 
SynonymHomalochilus strigilatus COPE 1862: 71
Epicrates versicolor STEINDACHNER 1863
Homalochilus strigilatus — GARMAN 1887: 279
Homalochilus strigilatus — BOULENGER 1893: 96
Epicrates strigilatus — BARBOUR 1904: 59
Epicrates striatus strigilatus — STULL 1935
Epicrates striatus strigilatus — SHEPLAN & SCHWARTZ 1974: 77
Chilabothrus strigilatus — REYNOLDS et al. 2013
Chilabothrus strigilatus — REYNOLDS & HENDERSON 2018: 14
Chilabothrus strigilatus — REYNOLDS et al. 2023

Epicrates strigilatus ailurus SHEPLAN & SCHWARTZ 1974
Epicrates striatus ailurus SHEPLAN & SCHWARTZ 1974: 81
Epicrates striatus ailurus — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988
Chilabothrus strigilatus ailurus — REYNOLDS et al. 2013
Chilabothrus strigilatus ailurus — REYNOLDS & HENDERSON 2018: 15

Epicrates strigilatus fosteri BARBOUR 1941
Epicrates striatus fosteri BARBOUR 1941
Epicrates striatus fosteri — SHEPLAN & SCHWARTZ 1974: 85
Epicrates striatus fosteri — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988
Chilabothrus strigilatus cf. fosteri— REYNOLDS et al. 2013
Chilabothrus strigilatus fosteri — REYNOLDS & HENDERSON 2018: 15

Epicrates strigilatus fowleri SHEPLAN & SCHWARTZ 1974
Epicrates striatus fowleri SHEPLAN & SCHWARTZ 1974: 87
Epicrates striatus fowleri — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988
Chilabothrus strigilatus fowleri — REYNOLDS et al. 2013
Chilabothrus strigilatus fowleri — REYNOLDS & HENDERSON 2018: 15

Epicrates strigilatus mccraniei SHEPLAN & SCHWARTZ 1974
Epicrates striatus mccraniei SHEPLAN & SCHWARTZ 1974: 83
Epicrates striatus mccraniei — KLUGE 1984: 56
Epicrates striatus mccraniei — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988
Chilabothrus strigilatus mccraniei — REYNOLDS et al. 2013
Chilabothrus strigilatus mccraniei — REYNOLDS & HENDERSON 2018: 15 
DistributionBahamas

ailurus: Bahama Is.: Alligator Cay and Cat Island; Type locality: Alligator Cay, Bennett's Harbour, Cat Island, Bahama Islands.

fosteri: Bahamas: Bimini Island; Type locality: North Bimini Island, Bahama Islands.

fowleri: Bahama Is.: Andros Island, Berry Island; Type locality: Fresh Creek, Andros Island, Bahama Islands.

mccraniei: Bahama Is.; Type locality: Ragged Island, Margaret Cay.

strigilatus: Bahama Is.: New Providence I. including Rose I., Eleuthera I., Long I., Exuma Cays, Andros (fide GARMN 1887); Type locality: New Providence Island, Bahama Islands.  
Reproductionviviparous (manual imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesSyntypes: ANSP 10237, ANSP 10239
Holotype: AMNH 77015 [ailurus]
Holotype: MCZ 46054 [fosteri]
Holotype: MCZ 125605 [fowleri]
Holotype: UMMZ 118033 [mccraniei]
Holotype: NMV 18930 [versicolor] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (9413 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentFor illustrations see Cochran, 1941; Mehrtens, 1987; Tolson, 1987.

Synonymy: Mostly after SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988. This species has been considered as a synonym of Epicrates striatus (e.g. by WALLACH et al. 2014: 274).

Habitat: partly arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018). 
EtymologyNamed after the Latin strigilis (= scraper) and -atus (= having); the meaning is unknown. Cope does not explain the etymology.

C. s. ailurus was named after Greek for "cat," in allusion to the island upon which this subspecies occurs.

C. s. fosteri was named after Richard W. Foster, an amateur malacologist, who collected the type.

C. s. fowleri was named after Danny C. Fowler who collected the type and some of the paratypes.

C. s. mccraniei was named after J.R. McCranie, who collected the paratypes. 
References
  • Barbour, T. 1904. Batrachia and Reptilia from the Bahamas. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 46: 55—61 - get paper here
  • Barbour, Thomas 1941. A new boa from the Bahamas. Proc. New England zool. Club 18: 61-65
  • Biswas, A., Ghosh, A., & Agashe, M. 2025. In ‘hot’pursuit: exploring the evolutionary ecology of labial pits in boas and pythons. Proceedings B, 292(2045), 20250199 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. London (Taylor & Francis), 448 pp. - get paper here
  • Cochran, D.M. 1941. The herpetology of Hispaniola. Bull. US Natl. Mus. 177: vii + 398 pp. - get paper here
  • Garman, S. 1887. On West Indian reptiles in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, Mass. Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 24: 278-286. - get paper here
  • Harrington, Sean M; Jordyn M de Haan, Lindsey Shapiro, Sara Ruane 2018. Habits and characteristics of arboreal snakes worldwide: arboreality constrains body size but does not affect lineage diversification. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 125 (1): 61–71 - get paper here
  • Hoefer, Sebastian; Nathan Jack Robinson, Theodora Pinou 2021. Size matters: Sexual dimorphism in the pelvic spurs of the Bahamian Boa (Chilabothrus strigilatus strigilatus). Herpetology Notes 14: 201-203
  • Jan, G. 1864. Iconographie générale des ophidiens. 6. Livraison. J.B. Bailière et Fils, Paris - get paper here
  • McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. [type catalogue] Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp.
  • Mehrtens, J.M. 1987. Living snakes of the world in color. Sterling Publ. Co., hic., New York, NY: 480 pp.
  • Powell, R. & Incháustegui, S.J. 2009. Conservation of the herpetofauna of the Dominican Republic. Applied Herpetology 6: 103–122 - get paper here
  • Reynolds, R. G. and A. R. Puente-Rólon 2016. Geographic Distribution: Chilabothrus strigilatus (Bahamas Boa). Herpetological Review 47(3): 425. - get paper here
  • Reynolds, R. Graham and Robert W. Henderson 2018. Boas of the World (Superfamily Booidae): A Checklist With Systematic, Taxonomic, and Conservation Assessments. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology Sep 2018, Vol. 162, No. 1: 1-58. - get paper here
  • Reynolds, R. Graham; Alberto R. Puente-Rolón, Anthony J. Geneva, Kevin J. Aviles-Rodriguez, and Nicholas C. Herrmann 2016. Discovery of a Remarkable New Boa from the Conception Island Bank, Bahamas. Breviora 549 (1): 1-19 - get paper here
  • Reynolds, R.G.; Matthew L. Niemiller; S. Blair Hedges; Alex Dornburg; Alberto R. Puente-Rolón; Liam J. Revell 2013. Molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography of West Indian boid snakes (Chilabothrus). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution - get paper here
  • REYNOLDS, ROBERT GRAHAM; ROBERT W. HENDERSON, LUIS M. DÍAZ, TOMÁS M. RODRÍGUEZ-CABRERA AND ALBERTO R. PUENTE-ROLÓN 2023. Boas of the West Indies. Comstock Publishing / Cornell U Press - get paper here
  • Schwartz, A. & Henderson, R.W. 1988. West Indian Amphibian and Reptiles: A Checklist. Milwaukee Publ. Mus. Contr. Biol. Geol. No. 74: 264 pp. - get paper here
  • Schwartz, A. & Henderson, R.W. 1991. Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, 720 pp.
  • Sheplan, B.R., and Schwartz, A. 1974. Hispaniolan boas of the genus Epicrates (Serpentes, Boidae) and their Antillean relationships. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 45:57-143.
  • Tolson, P.J. 1987. Phylogenetics of the boid snake genus Epicrates and Caribbean vicariance theory. Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan (715): 1-68. - get paper here
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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