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Epicrates (snake)

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Epicrates
Brazilian rainbow boa, E. c. cenchria
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Boidae
Subfamily: Boinae
Genus: Epicrates
Wagler, 1830
Synonyms

Epicrates is a genus of non-venomous snakes in the subfamily Boinae of the family Boidae. The genus is native to South America and Central America. Five species are currently recognized as being valid, including the rainbow boa.[2]

Distribution and habitat

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Species of Epicrates are found in lower Central America through South America as far south as Argentina.[1]

Species

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Species[2] Taxon author[2] Subspecies*[2] Common name Geographic range[1] Image
E. alvarezi Ábalos, Báez & Nader, 1964 0 Argentinian rainbow boa northern Argentina, southeastern Bolivia, western Paraguay
E. assisi Machado, 1945 0 Caatinga rainbow boa Brazil
E. cenchriaT (Linnaeus, 1758) 4* Rainbow boa[2] French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina
E. crassus (Cope, 1862) 0 Paraguayan rainbow boa Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil
E. maurus Gray, 1849 0 Colombian rainbow boa; Brown rainbow boa Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, northern Brazil, Trinidad, Tobago, Isla Margarita.
  • ) Not including the nominate subspecies.

T) Type species.[1]

Etymology

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The specific name, alvarezi, is in honor of Argentine herpetologist Antenor Álvarez (1864–1948).[3]

The specific name, assisi, is in honor of Arlindo de Assis who collected the holotype.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. ^ a b c d e "Epicrates". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 6 July 2008.
  3. ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Epicrates alvarezi, p. 6).
  4. ^ Species Epicrates assisi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
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