Corallus cookii | |
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Cook's Tree Boa | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Boidae |
Genus: | Corallus |
Species: | C. cookii |
Binomial name | |
Corallus cookii Gray, 1842 | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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Corallus cookii, also known as Cook's tree boa[3] or Cooke's tree boa,[4] is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Boidae. The species is endemic to the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean. There are no recognized subspecies.[3]
Etymology
The specific name, cookii, is in honor of English artist and naturalist Edward William Cooke.[4]
Description
C. cookii is similar to C. hortulana and C. grenadensis, only smaller, with adults reaching a total length (including tail) of 5 feet (152 cm), and being mainly gray or brown in color. Not more than a few specimens exist in captivity.[5]
Reproduction
C. cookii is viviparous.[6]
Geographic range
Endemic to the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean, C. cookii is known only from a few locations on the island. The type locality given is "West Indies", which was restricted to "St. Vincent" by Henderson (1997).[2]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of C. cooki is forest, but it is also abundant in urban areas. It is found from sea level to an altitude of 500 m (1,600 ft).[1]
References
- 1 2 Henderson RW, Powell R (2021). "Corallus cookii ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org?10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T203209A2762187.en. Accessed on 05 April 2022.
- 1 2 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- 1 2 "Corallus cookii ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
- 1 2 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. (Corallus cookii, p. 58).
- ↑ Stafford PJ, Henderson RW (1996). Kaleidoscopic Tree Boas: The Genus Corallus of Tropical America. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 120 pp. ISBN 0-89464-975-2.
- ↑ Species Corallus cookii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
Further reading
- Gray JE (1842). "Synopsis of the species of prehensile-tailed Snakes, or family Boidæ". Zoological Miscellany, London 2: 41–46. (Corallus cookii, new species, p. 42).
- Henderson RW (1997). "A Taxonomic Review of the Corallus hortulanus Complex of Neotropical Tree Boas". Caribbean Journal of Science 33 (3-4): 198–221.
- 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. (Corallus enydris cooki, p. 181).