Cuban boa

Cuban boa
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Boidae
Genus:	Chilabothrus
Species:	C. angulifer
Binomial name
Chilabothrus angulifer (Cocteau & Bibron, 1840)
Synonyms
Epicrates angulifer Cocteau & Bibron, 1840 Epicrates angulifer — Boulenger, 1893 Chilabothrus angulifer — Reynolds et al., 2013

The Cuban boa (Chilabothrus angulifer), also known as the Cuban tree boa and by locals as Majá de Santa María, is a very large species of snake in the family Boidae. With lengths exceeding 5 m (16 ft) and a relatively heavy build, the Cuban boa is one of the largest snakes in North America. The species is native to Cuba and some nearby islands. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Etymology

The genus name Chilabothrus is from the Greek cheilos, meaning "lip", á "without" and bothros "pits". The specific name originates from the Latin word angirlus, meaning "angle", probably in reference to the angular shapes of the main elements of the dorsal pattern.

Geographic range

C. angulifer is found in Cuba and on adjacent islands, including Isla de la Juventud (formerly called the Isle of Pines), the Canarreos Archipelago (the Cayo Cantiles), the Colorados Archipelago off the northern coast of Pinar del Río, the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago (Cayo Guajaba and Cayo Sant María). The type locality given is "Cuba".

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of C. angulifer is forest of several varieties (rainforest, cloud forest, evergreen forest, semi-deciduous forest, thorn forest, coastal scrub forest), at altitudes from sea level to 1,214 m (3,983 ft). It has also been found in sugar cane plantations.

Description

Cuban boa at Budapest Zoo

The presence of labial pits, the shortest tail of the entire genus and supralabials separated from the eye result in the Cuban boa being the least derived species of the genus Chilabothrus. It is also the largest member of Chilabothrus. The Cuban boa has a quite massive body, of a size typical for a boa or python of far greater length.

Size

C. angulifer is the largest snake in the Cuba and the West Indies, with specimens exceeding 5 m (16 ft) in length and 30 kg (66 lb) in weight. The largest individual measured 5.65 m (18.5 ft) long and estimated at more than 40 kg (88 lb) in mass. Gundlach (1875, 1880) stated that he had seen individuals of about 6.4 m (21 ft) in total length. He also mentioned about one large individual kept in captivity by him had length of 4.57 m (15.0 ft) was collected at the Zapata Swamp, Matanzas Province. Rodríguez (1876) commented that the largest specimens able grow up to 5.49 m (18.0 ft) long and 25–28 cm (9.8–11.0 in) in diameter. However, in average C. angulifer reaches 3.66 m (12.0 ft) in total length.

Coloring

Coloration brown with a pattern of staggered dark brown rhombic spots. Dorsal pattern of 42–65 appressed, angulate, dark brown to black markings on a yellowish to yellow-tan ground, but often (western Cuba) without any dark colors in dorsal pattern, and pattern composed of indeterminate number of medium brown to pale tan, much-fused markings; tail patternless above, or with up to 12 darker dorsal markings.

Scalation

C. angulifer possesses dorsal scale rows at midbody 53–69; ventral scales 272–292 in males, 268–290 in females; subcaudal scales 45–55 in males, 46–54 in females; ventrals + subcaudals 321–347 in males, 316–339 in females; supralabial scales separated from eye; head scale formula* 3–3–4. C. angulifer is different from most other species of the genus in that the is usually completely separated from supralabials by a row of lorilabials and few subcaudals.

Behavior

Despite their large size, Cuban boas are semi-arboreal and climb fairly well. They are usually solitary, sometimes intersecting during the mating season.

Diet

Cuban boa swallowing a bat

C. angulifer is a terrestrial apex predator in Cuba along with the Cuban crocodile and carnivorous birds. Depending on age, size and health, prey can range from anurans, lizards, snakes, turtles, aquatic birds (Gruiformes), free-ranging raptors (Accipitriformes, Cathartiformes), forest birds (Columbiformes, Cuculiformes, Passeriformes), caged birds (Columbiformes, Galliformes, Falconiformes, Passeriformes, Psittaciformes), free-ranging poultry (Anseriformes, Galliformes), bats, bovids, pigs, carnivores, rabbits, hutias and rats. As a result of data from the literature and field studies, 351 prey items were recorded in 49 different taxa obtained from 218 snakes. Warm-blooded (mammals and birds) made up 96%, while cold-blooded (reptiles and amphibians) only 4%. Mammals made up 54.7% of the total prey items consumed, followed by birds (41.3%), while amphibians (2%) and reptiles (2%) made up only a small part of the diet. The prey species most frequently consumed were domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus) (24.8%), Desmarest's hutias (Capromys pilorides) (14.5%), two bat species (Jamaican fruit-eating bat, Artibeus jamaicensis: 8.8%; Cuban flower bat, Phyllonycteris poeyi: 6.0%), and black rats (Rattus rattus) (7.7%).

Reproduction

C. angulifer is viviparous. Females are biennial breeders and take five or more years to mature. Mating season is normally April through June. Males will mate every year and engage in ritualized combat. Size, not age, determines the female's ability to reproduce. Gestation in the wild is typically 150–180 days. Gestation length appears to reflect the temperatures the females are exposed to while gravid. Parturition normally takes place in September and October. Litter sizes range from 2–22 young in the wild. There appears to be a correlation between the size of the female and litter/neonate size: the larger the female, the larger the litters and babies. Neonatal C. angulifer are among the largest within the family (505–646 mm SVL, 80–237 g). Only neonatal Boa constrictor and Eunectes murinus are of comparable sizes.

Maturation

Young Cuban boa

C. angulifer reaches maturation for breeding at three years old for males, and five years old for females. Captive snakes reach breeding maturity at larger sizes than non-captive snakes.

Longevity

In the wild, Cuban boas can live in excess of 30 years. Although the reproductive potential is still poorly understood, long term studies are quantifying the missing or inconclusive data. In captivity, specimens continuously reproduced at the age of 30 plus years.

Conservation status

C. angulifer was classified as "Least Concern" (LC) in 2021.

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Boidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I–XXVIII. (Epicrates angulifer, p. 96).
• Cocteau J-T, Bibron G (1838). "Reptiles ". pp. 1–143. In: de la Sagra R (1838). Historia Physica, Politica y Natural de la Isla de Cuba. Historia Natural. Tomo IV. Reptiles y Peces. Paris: Arthus Bertrand. 255 pp. (Epicrates angulifer, new species, pp. 129–130). (in Latin and Spanish).
• Reynolds RG, Niemiller ML, Hedges SB, Dornburg A, Puente-Rolón AR, Revell LJ (2013). "Molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography of West Indian boid snakes (Chilabothrus)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 68 (3): 461–470. (Chilabothrus angulifer, new combination).
• 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 angulifer, p. 183).