Tree Boas & Pythons here at Arboreals Etc...

Overview of Corallus tree boas

Perhaps even more intriguing than the increased knowledge in regards to husbandry are the strides the scientific community has made in regards to tree boa natural history the past ten years or so. This has been largely due to the work of one man, Dr. Robert Henderson at Milwaukee Public Museum and his assistants.

The tree boas are within the Family Boidae. Although this family is small, it is tremendously diverse. It is spread through five continents and representatives of this family are found in the trees, on the ground and underneath the ground. Other representatives spend a large part of their time in or near the water. The Boinae (Boas), a subfamily of the Boidae, is where the Corallus tree boas can be found.
The Corallus tree boas are a small group of now eight species found throughout Central America and the northern half of South America. They are primarily encountered in wet forests or areas of relatively high humidity but this is not always the case as some species are found in fruit orchards, plantations and savannahs. As their names suggest, Corallus are all arboreal to some degree. They are well equipped with infrared thermal receptors - located in scales along their upper and lower lips. Taxonomically, this group has changed since 1991 and has undergone a dramatic facelift since 1996. Take a look at the changes:

Within the genus most consider the Cropan's boa the most basal of the Corallus. For a long time it was placed in its own genus Xenoboa. It's known from 3 individuals and only found in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Emerald tree boas Corallus caninus are thought to be the sister taxon to the Cropan's boa at the base of the phylogeny tree. Whether or not the emerald tree boa and Cropan's boa are closer than the phylogeny tree indicates is unknown. The two are the most heavy-bodied of the tree boas and are unlike the other tree boas which are elongated.

Further along the group, the branches divide into two major groups: the annulated tree boas and the Amazon tree boa complex. The annulated tree boas have one of the smallest distributional areas of the tree boas but it stretches to cover many latitudes. Disjunct populations are found in two areas of Central America, in Colombia and in Ecuador. Populations from Ecuador are now known as Corallus blombergi while the other two populations have been lumped into Corallus annulatus

The Amazon tree boa complex comprises the last four species of tree boas. At one time, all these species belonged under the name Corallus hortulanus. Taxonomical and ecological work has helped tease these species apart. The namesake Amazon tree boa Corallus hortulanus has the largest distribution of all the tree boas being found throughout the Amazon rainforest and even into drier areas in SE Brazil. Their variation in color and pattern is probably the most amazing of the reptile world. Moving northward, the Central American or black-tailed tree boa Corallus ruschenbergerii is found in northern South America as well as being the only member of the complex encountered in Central America. Black-tailed tree boas are so named because the tails of some are heavily colored black.

The last two species, the Cook's tree boa Corallus cookii and the Grenadian tree boa Corallus grenadensis are insular species found in the South Caribbean. The Cook's tree boa, often mistakenly named so in the herp trade, is found exclusively on the island of St. Vincent and some surrounding islands. St. Vincent is north of the Grenadian Bank where you will encounter the Grenadian tree boa. These islands are close to the northeastern coast of Venezuela.