Amazon tree boa - Corallus hortulanus

[Ceratodromeus]

Amazon tree boa - Corallus hortulanus

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class Sauropsida
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Boidae
Subfamily: Boinae
Genus: Corallus
Species: C.hortulanus

Description
This is a species of boiid snake that is perfectly adapted to living in the trees of South America. its incredibly slender morphology, coupled with cryptic coloration, allows it to seamlessly blend into its surroundings. The head is relatively large, the eyes being elliptical in nature. Amazon tree boas vary widely in color and pattern, something they are very well known for, and one reason they are widely sought after in the pet trade. In fact the polymorphic variety can even be seen in a single litter{1}. Animals tend to be brown or beige in coloration, this differing from different localities, as well as the boldness of the animals' pattern. There is one specific morph that is patternless and very light in color, but this seems to be the exception rather than the rule -- patterning varies from what is described as a reticulated pattern, to diamond shaped patterns running down the animals back, to having a more mottled pattern. There do not appear to be any genotypic reasons to warrant the classification of these different morphs as different species.



Amazon tree boas typically have around 278 ventral scales(but this can range from 250-297), 117 Subcaudal scales(can range from 105-137), 55 dorsal scale rows(can range from 47-63){2,3}; This species appears to have higher scale counts than other members of the Corallus genus. They are not a very large species; the mean snout-vent length from a sample of 218 animals yielded 1.3m(range of 0.8-1.87m). The 1.87m figure slightly surpasses an unsexed animal of 1.8m recorded in 1947{3,4}. The tail is relatively short, making up 19-23% of the animals' total length{4}. Females tend to be larger than the males, which top out at ~1.6m total body length.

Distribution & activity
This species of tree boa appears to be very Geographically successful, and perhaps has the widest distribution of all Corallus species. Records for the species have been recorded from Columbia to Central & southern Brazil. Though it has not been confirmed via molecular analysis, it is possible there is hybridization between the Amazon tree boa and sympatric Corallus. They appear to be active during the day as well as the night; animals in Brazil have been recorded moving amongst bushes as well as the crowns of trees, possibly searching for suitable ambush sites.



Dietary habits
Amazon tree boas are opportunistic ambush predators, having been reported coiled around the trunks of trees and facing the ground, waiting to strike out at any hapless animal that strays across its path. Like a lot of other Boiids, they have heat sensing organs on the end of the snout that allow them to detect endothermic prey. One animal from the Brazilian state of Careiro had an unidentified passerine in its stomach{4}. Other prey records from Brazil show that small frogs(an unidentified Hylid), lizards(Ameiva ameiva, Tropidurussp.), other birds(Cacicus haemorrhous, Thraupis sayaca, as well as a lot of unidentified remains), rodents(Akodon cursor, Nectomys squamipes,Oligoryzomys nigripes , Rhipidomys mastacalis, some unidentified material), marsupials(Gracilinanus microtarsus, Marmosa murina, Micoureus demerarae), and bats(Artibeus obscurus, Myotis sp., Platyrhinus lineatus, Carollia perspicillata, unidentified material) have all been reported; lizards, as well as a frog, were only reported in the immature animals, but the majority of food taken by these animals was mammalian or avian in nature{5,6}. One recent report details an adult animal 1.6m long preying upon a young female spider monkey weighing 92% of its mass, perhaps the single most impressive predatory feat reported for the species{7}.



Reproduction
Sexual maturity is attained at around 1m in snout-vent length for both sexes, about 80% of the average adults' snout vent length{8}. Follicle diameters in female animals are the largest in December, and most females will give birth during the first half of the year(January-June). The species is viviparous, meaning they give birth to live young. Neonate size has been tied to the size of the maternal female; longer, heavier females give bigger litters{8}. In a study on Brazilian boiid reproduction, and out of a sample size of ten, the mean litter size was 11 young(this ranged from 3-24). Reported from the same overview article, Neonates had a mean snout-vent length of 398mm( range of 282-455){8}.


References
{1} Duarte, Mel de Oliveira, Tiago Magalhães da Silva FREITAS, and Ana Lúcia da Costa PRUDENTE. "Polychromatism of populations of Corallus hortulanus (Squamata: Boidae) from the southern Amazon Basin, Brazil." Acta Amazonica 45.4 (2015): 373-382.
{2} Henderson, Robert W. "A taxonomic review of the Corallus hortulanus complex of Neotropical tree boas." Caribbean Journal of Science 33 (1997): 198-221.
{3} Pizzatto, Lígia, Selma M. Almeida-Santos, and Richard Shine. "Life‐history adaptations to arboreality in snakes." Ecology 88.2 (2007): 359-366.
{4} Martins, Marcio, and M. Ermelinda Oliveira. "Natural history of snakes in forests of the Manaus region, Central Amazonia, Brazil." Herpetological Natural History 6.2 (1998): 78-150.
{5} Pizzatto, Lígia, Otavio AV Marques, and Kátia Facure. "Food habits of Brazilian boid snakes: overview and new data, with special reference to Corallus hortulanus." Amphibia-Reptilia 30.4 (2009): 533-544.
{6} Esbérard, Carlos EL, and Davor Vrcibradic. "Snakes preying on bats: new records from Brazil and a review of recorded cases in the Neotropical Region." Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 24.3 (2007): 848-853.
{7} Ribeiro-Júnior, Marco Antônio, et al. "Predation of a squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) by an Amazon tree boa (Corallus hortulanus): even small boids may be a potential threat to small-bodied platyrrhines." Primates (2016): 1-6.
{8} Pizzatto, Lígia, and Otavio AV Marques. "Reproductive ecology of boine snakes with emphasis on Brazilian species and a comparison to pythons." South American Journal of Herpetology 2.2 (2007): 107-122.

[Ceratodromeus]

Story from last year but still worth posting
Amazon Tree Boas Smuggled Into U.S. From South America Find Home At Oakland Zoo

"Three Amazon tree boas that were illegally transported from South America to Florida have found a new home at the Oakland Zoo.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents seized the snakes that were illegally imported to the Port of Miami and reached out to the non-profit group Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which was able to find the slithering creatures a place at the Oakland Zoo.

Since the boas were smuggled, they cannot be returned to their natural habitat and were instead treated at the zoo’s Veterinary Hospital for months under quarantine, zoo officials said.

Four Amazon tree boas were originally found at the Florida port and were treated at the zoo hospital for internal and external parasites, which veterinary staff removed by hand, according to the zoo.

“Animals illegally imported from the wild and into the pet trade are subjected to horrific conditions during the transport including overcrowding, extreme temperatures, and little to no sanitation, leading to a very low survival rate,” Margaret Rousser, Oakland Zoo’s zoological manager, said in a statement.

Zoo officials took in the snakes knowing they only had a 50 percent chance of living.
One of the boas died while in care and three survived the quarantine period, according to the zoo.
Zookeepers added hiding places for the trio as they adjust to the new exhibit at the zoo’s Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Room.
The snakes tend to stay near rivers and are commonly found in humid environments, savannas and dry forests.
They are colorful creatures that tend to have a pale tan to black base and yellow and red tinge.

Their tongues are black and their heads have five dark stripes extending from their eyes, which either have yellow, gray or red tones.They are known to be an aggressive species but don’t secrete venom.On average, the boas can live for 20 years while in captivity." 
sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/02/04/amazon-tree-boas-smuggled-into-u-s-from-south-america-find-home-at-oakland-zoo-snake-miami-florida-association-of-zoos-and-aquariums-reptile-amphibian/

[Ceratodromeus]

Corallus hortulanus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Squamata: Serpentes: Boidae) diet: predation events on two Passeriformes at the Atlantic Rainforest, southeastern Brazil

"Corallus hortulanus (Linnaeus, 1758) is a medium
sized snake, widely distributed in South-America
(Henderson, 1997). It is nocturnal and arboreal,
generally found near water (Cunha and Nascimento,
1978; Martins and Oliveira, 1998; da Costa e Silva
and Henderson, 2010; Henderson et al., 2013). It feeds
mainly on small mammals and birds, and rarely on
lizards and frogs (Pizzatto et al., 2009).
On November, 16th 2010, in Reserva Ecológica
Guapiaçu, Cachoeiras de Macacu, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(22°25’36.50”S, 42°44’55.13”W, 200 m elevation) an
adult Corallus hortulanus (MNRJ 19973, adult, female,
snout-vent length 
1A) was found on a tree, ca. three meters above the
ground. When manipulated, it regurgitated a partially
digested adult of Tangara ornata (MNA 8167), which
was identified due to the characteristic blue feathers
present on lower back, rump and superior primary
coverts and a few yellow feathers on the wing bent.
Due to the stage of digestion (upper body missing and
gonads decayed), sex could not be determined.
Tangara ornata (Sparrman, 1789) (Fig. 1B) is a fairly
common species occurring in the coastal region of SE
Brazil, from sea level up to 1750 m. It inhabits forests,
forest edges, shrubby clearings and surroundings of
human inhabitations. Regularly occurring in groups,
it forages mostly above the ground. Its diet consists
primarily on fruit, but it also takes nectar from flowers
and searches for insects in lichen and moss (Sick, 1997;
Isler and Isler, 1999; Willis and Oniki, 2003; Sigrist,
2006; Ridgely and Tudor, 2009).
In November 1990, at Centro de Primatologia do Rio
de Janeiro, Parque Estadual dos Três Picos, Guapimirim,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (22°30’34.27”S, 42°48’54.18”W,
80 m elevation), Dr. Alcides Picinatti collected a roadkilled
adult Corallus hortulanus (IVB 1553, female,
SLV 1280 mm, TL 305 mm), which had a Turdus
leucomelas (MNA 8817) inside its stomach. It was
also partially digested (head and throat missing), and
was identified by comparisons with other specimens at
the Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro ornithological
collection. Identification was based on the presence of
rufous underwing coverts, contrasting with the palerufous
belly, creamy-buff crissum and rufous-brown
back colors.
Turdus leucomelas Vieillot, 1818 (Fig. 1C) is also
fairly common on a variety of semi open habitats
(borders of humid forests, clearings, savannas, gallery
woodlands, urban areas). Often terrestrial, it feeds on
insects, annelids, and even on small vertebrates (Sick,
1997; Willis and Oniki, 2003; Sigrist, 2006; Ridgely
and Tudor, 2009).

Little is known about the diet of several snake species
(Esbérard and Vrcibradic, 2007; Mendonça et al., 2011),
and only a few studies identify preys to a species level,
especially because they are often in advanced stage of
digestion (e.g. Martins and Oliveira, 1998; Esbérard
and Vrcibradic, 2007). For Corallus hortulanus, at least,
eight birds were identified to the species level so far (cf.
Henderson, 1993; Martins and Oliveira, 1998; da Costa
e Silva and Henderson, 2010; Henderson and Pauers,
2012). However, this is the first report of Tangara ornata
and Turdus leucomelas as prey items for this species.
Here we encourage more precise reports on snakes’
preys by performing multidisciplinary studies through
collaboration among different specialists in zoology."

www.biotaxa.org/hn/article/view/12327/19794