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Boa, Islands tree
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Genus
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Epicrates
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Species
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monensis
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Subspecies
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granti
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Status
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Endangered
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Habitat
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semi-deserts to rainforests
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Distribution
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USA (Puerto Rico), British Islands
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Diet
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Small animals, mice, geckos, lizards, frogs, birds
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Feeding
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Boas rely on constriction, or squeezing, to kill their prey. They do this by wrapping themselves in a series of coils around the animal as soon as it is seized. These coils tighten every time the prey exhales, preventing it from drawing another breath and suffocating it.
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Conservation
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These two small species of bolyerine snakes, Bolyeria multocarinata and Casarea dussumieri, are found only on tiny Round Island in the Indian Ocean. They have become endangered because of the massive environmental degradation there, mostly habitat destruction by introduced pigs.
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Interesting Facts
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The record for the "longest snake in the world" is up to 10 meters, for both the reticulated python of Asia and the semi-aquatic anaconda of South America. Other runners-up include the Indian python, at 9 meters, the African python, at 8 meters, and the Australian scrub python, at 7 meters.
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Animal Communication Panel
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