Pseudoboa neuwiedii

Pseudoboa neuwiedii, commonly known as the ratonel or ratonera (mouse-eater), is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to northern South America.[3]

Pseudoboa neuwiedii
Pseudoboa neuwiedii in a house in El Limón, Venezuela
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Pseudoboa
Species:
P. neuwiedii
Binomial name
Pseudoboa neuwiedii
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Scytale neuwiedii
    A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron &
    A.H.A. Duméril, 1854
  • Olisthenes euphæus
    Cope, 1859
  • Rhinocheilus thominoti
    Bocourt, 1887
  • Oxyrhopus neuwiedii
    — Boulenger, 1896
  • Pseudoboa robinsoni
    Stejneger, 1902
  • Pseudoboa neuweidii
    — Stejneger, 1902

Geographic range

Pseudoboa neuwiedii is found on the mainland of South America from Colombia to The Guianas, and in Brazil along the Amazon River,[4] as well as in Grenada,[5] and Trinidad and Tobago.[3]

Etymology

The specific name, neuwiedii, is in honor of German naturalist Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied.[6]

Description

Pseudoboa neuwiedii grows to a maximum total length (including tail) of 1 m (39 in).[3]

Dorsally, it is reddish brown, either uniform or with some scattered small black spots. The top of the head and neck are black or dark brown. There may or may not be a yellowish crossband or collar across the temples and occiput. Ventrally, it is yellowish.[2] This snake is venomous, but due the anatomy of its teeth it has difficulty in inoculating venom, its venom is highly proteolytic and could affect the coagulation by degrading the fibrinogen.[7]

Behavior

Pseudoboa neuwiedii is a powerful constrictor.[3]

Diet

Pseudoboa neuwiedii feeds on any animal it can capture and subdue. Individuals have been reported to consume snakes as large as or larger than they themselves are.[3]

Reproduction

P. neuwiedii is oviparous. [1]

References
  1. Species Pseudoboa neuwiedii at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
  2. Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Oxyrhopus neuwiedii, pp. 112-113).
  3. Boos, Hans E. A. (2001). The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 1-58544-116-3.
  4. Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. (Pseudoboa neuwiedii, p. 107).
  5. 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. ("Pseudoboa neuwiedi [sic]", p. 190).
  6. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Pseudoboa neuwiedii, p. 189).
  7. Torres-Bonilla, Kristian A.; Andrade-Silva, Débora; Serrano, Solange M. T.; Hyslop, Stephen (2018-11-01). "Biochemical characterization of venom from Pseudoboa neuwiedii (Neuwied's false boa; Xenodontinae; Pseudoboini)". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology. 213: 27–38. doi:10.1016/j.cbpc.2018.06.003. ISSN 1532-0456.

Further reading
  • Duméril A-M-C, Bibron G, Duméril A[-H-A] (1854). Erpétology générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Deuxième partie. [= General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of Reptiles. Volume Seven. Part Two]. Paris: Roret. pp. xi + 781-1536. (Scytale neuwiedii, new species, pp. 1001-1002). (in French).


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