Boidae

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Boa

Scientific Classification
Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Order Squamata Suborder Serpentes Family Boidae
Genera
Acrantophis Boa Candoia Corallus Epicrates Eryx Eunectes Gongylophis Sanzinia

Boidae is a taxonomic family of constrictors in the kingdom Animalia. The type genus is the Boa. Boas give birth to live young and are one of the biggest snakes in the world. Varieties, such as the Anaconda, can weigh upwards of 1000 lb.

1 Anatomy
2 Reproduction
3 Ecology
4 Gallery
5 Related References
6 See Also

Anatomy

Boas are a medium sized to extremely large snakes, and males are usually smaller then the females. They can range in size from 1m to 10m long. A typical female boa weight ranges near 400-900+ grams and a male typically near 70-100 grams in weight. Boas range in color from bright red, yellow, to a dark gray and even brown.

Reproduction

Members of the family Boidae reproduce sexually. Mating begins in the spring when it is warm the males are really aggressive. During the mating season two males will battle each other when the come in contact with each other over a female.

The mating process first takes place when a male finds a female. The male will placer his head on her back twist his tail around hers and then attempt to copulate. But most of the time the female will just move away, and because of this it can take hours and sometimes days of repeated advancements.

The male’s sexual organs consist of two penises. The two penises are covered with spines so that when ever he inserts his penises within the female they will help the penises stay inserted. The mating phase can last up to a couple of days.

The female will have up two 50 eggs but will normally have 2-16 at a time. Boas will usually build nest or burrows and lay eggs but the female snake will rarely stay and watch over here young. If they do stay and watch over there young the female will coil around her eggs and produce hat by contraction her muscles.

A newborn snake will look the completely the same as its parents but scale down version and a bigger head to its body. Male snakes will mature at and earlier age of 9 months but most of the time a male snake will reach maturity in two years. A female will take a little longer, usually reaching maturity around 2.5 to 3 years of age.

Ecology

Boidae Distribution

Family Boidae inhabits a very large range of habitats. They live in Madagascar, southwest pacific, Africa, Australia, and Asia east Africa India. Boas are a nocturnal hunters. Boidaes diet consists mostly of birds, rodents and small mammals. But some of the larges species of snakes will eat animal up to a size of a large dog. When the snake is younger they will climb up trees and find eggs are nesting birds. How boidae will kill there pray is camouflage them self’s into there surroundings and then weight until a animal comes by a lash out and snag there pray with there teeth and then start to constrict the life out of there pray most of the time they will crush the bones of there pray.