Boidae 88580 225776431 2008-07-15T10:18:41Z Jwinius 141528 /* Description */ Some changes and additions to the text. {{Taxobox | name = Boidae | image = Boa constrictor (2).jpg | image_caption = Boa constrictor, ''[[Boa constrictor|Boa&nbsp;constrictor]]'' | regnum = [[Animalia]] | phylum = [[Chordata]] | subphylum = [[Vertebrata]] | classis = [[Reptilia]] | ordo = [[Squamata]] | subordo = [[Serpentes]] | infraordo = [[Alethinophidia]] | familia = '''Boidae''' | familia_authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1825 | synonyms = * ''Boidae'' - Gray, 1825<ref name="McD99">McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).</ref> }} :'''''Common names:''' boas, boids.<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS|ID=174321|taxon=Boidae|year=2008|date=14 July}}</ref>'' The '''Boidae''' are a [[Family (biology)|family]] of non-venomous [[snake]]s found in the [[Americas]], [[Africa]], [[Europe]], [[Asia]] and some Pacific Islands. Relatively primitive snakes, adults are medium to large in size, with females usually larger than the males. The name is derived from the Latin term ''bos'', meaning "cow", and is based on an old myth that boas pursue cows and suckle them until they are drained to death. Two [[Subfamily|subfamilies]] comprising eight [[genus|genera]] and 43 [[species]] are currently recognized.<ref name="ITIS"/> ==Description== Like the [[Pythonidae|pythons]], boids have elongated supratemporal bones. The quadrate bones are also elongated, but not as much, while both are capable of moving freely so that when they swing sideways to their maximum extent, the distance between the hinges of the lower jaw is greatly increased.<ref name="P&G77">Parker HW, Grandison AGC. 1977. Snakes -- a natural history. Second Edition. British Museum (Natural History) and Cornell University Press. 108 pp. 16 plates. LCCCN 76-54625. ISBN 0-8014-1095-9 (cloth), ISBN 0-8014-9164-9 (paper).</ref> Both families share a number of primitive characteristics. Nearly all have a relatively rigid lower jaw with a coronoid element, as well as a vestigial pelvic girdle with hind limbs that are partially visible as a pair of spurs, one on either side of the vent. In males, these [[anal spurs]] are larger and more conspicuous than in females. A long row of palatal teeth is present and most species have a functional left lung that can be up to 75% as large as the right lung.<ref name="P&G77"/><ref name="">[http://www.curator.org/legacyvmnh/weboflife/kingdom/P_Chordata/ClassReptilia/O_Squamata/InfraSnakes/FBoidae/boidae.htm Boidae] at [http://www.curator.org/ VMNH]. Accessed [[15 July]] [[2008]].</ref> Boids are, however, distinguished from the pythons in that none have postfrontal bones or premaxillary teeth, and that they give birth to live young. When labial pits are present, these are located between the scales as opposed to on them. Also, their geographical distributions are almost entirely mutually exclusive. In the few areas that they do coexist, the tendency is for them to occupy different habitats.<ref name="P&G77"/> It used to be said that boas are found in the [[New World]] and pythons in the [[Old World]], but with boid species found on [[Madagascar]], [[Fiji]] and the [[Solomon Islands]], this is not quite true. Instead, it seems that they have survived in evolutionarily isolated areas. After all, [[South America]] had, until a few million years ago, a distinct [[fauna]] that included [[marsupial]] and [[mammal]]s. With the land bridge to North America, boids have migrated north as [[placental]] mammals and [[Colubridae|colubrids]] have migrated south. ==Geographic range== Found in [[North America|Northern]], [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], the [[Caribbean]], southeastern [[Europe]] and [[Asia Minor]], [[North Africa|Northern]], [[Central Africa|Central]] and [[East Africa]], [[Madagascar]] and [[Reunion Island]], the [[Arabian Peninsula]], [[Central Asia|Central]] and southwestern [[Asia]], [[India]] and [[Sri Lanka]], the [[Moluccas]] and [[New Guinea]] through to [[Melanesia]] and [[Samoa]].<ref name="McD99"/> ==Reproduction== Most species are [[Ovoviviparity|ovoviviparous]], with females giving birth to live young. This is in contrast to the [[Pythonidae|pythons]], which all lay eggs ([[Oviparity|oviparous]]). ==Subfamilies== {|cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 border=1 style="border-collapse: collapse;" !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Species<ref name="ITIS"/> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Authority<ref name="ITIS"/> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Genera<ref name="ITIS"/> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Species<ref name="ITIS"/> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Common name !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Geographic range<ref name="McD99"/> |- |[[Boinae]] |[[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1825 |align="center"|5 |align="center"|28 |True boas |style="width:40%"|[[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], [[Africa]], [[Madagascar]], [[Reunion Island]], [[Mauritius]], the [[Maluku Islands]] and [[New Guinea]]. |- |[[Erycinae]] |[[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1831 |align="center"|3 |align="center"|15 |Old World sand boas |South and southeastern [[Europe]], [[Asia Minor]], north, central, west and east Africa, [[Arabia]], central and southwestern [[Asia]], [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]]. Also in southwestern [[Canada]], the western [[United States]] and northwestern [[Mexico]]. |- |} [[Type genus]] = ''[[Boa (genus)|Boa]]'' - Gray, 1825<ref name="McD99"/> ==Taxonomy== Pythons are sometimes classified as a subfamily of Boidae, the Pythoninae, but are in this case listed under their own family, the [[Pythonidae]]. In the same way, the Old World sand boas, the [[Erycinae]], are also frequently listed under their own family, the Erycidae. ==See also== * [[List of boine species and subspecies]] * [[List of erycine species and subspecies]] * {{c|Boidae by common name}} * {{c|Boidae by taxonomic synonyms}} * [[List of snakes]], overview of all snake families and genera. ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== <div class="references-small"> * Kluge AG. 1991. Boine Snake Phylogeny and Research Cycles. Misc. Pub. Museum of Zoology, Univ. of Michigan No. 178. [http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56422/1/MP178.pdf PDF] at [http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/ University of Michigan Library]. Accessed [[8 July]] [[2008]]. </div> [[Category:Boidae]] [[ar:أصلة]] [[bg:Боидни]] [[cs:Hroznýšovití]] [[da:Kvælerslange]] [[de:Riesenschlangen]] [[es:Boidae]] [[fr:Boidae]] [[gd:Boa]] [[gl:Boidae]] [[ko:보아 (동물)]] [[hr:Kržljonoške]] [[it:Boidae]] [[ka:მახრჩობელასებრნი]] [[lt:Smaugliniai]] [[hu:Óriáskígyófélék]] [[nl:Boa's]] [[ja:ボア科]] [[no:Boaslanger]] [[pl:Dusiciele]] [[pt:Boidae]] [[qu:Amaru]] [[ru:Ложноногие]] [[sk:Veľhadovité]] [[fi:Jättiläiskäärmeet]] [[sv:Boa]] [[vi:Trăn]] [[tr:Boa yılanı]] [[zh:蚺科]] {{Snake_families}}