INTEGBI 175LF Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Coral Snake, Prehensile Tail, Corallus
14 May 2018
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Alethinophidia : all snakes besides “Scolecophidia”
●Aniliidae : False Coral Snake
○Range: N S Am
○Monotypic - scytale
○Ecology:
■Fossorial but forages on surface
■Eats elongate vertebrates (1st eating large food)
○Description:
■Relatively large - 1 m
■Red and black bands → Batesian mimic
■Compressed skull, reduced ventrals, small eyes under ocular shield
■Vestigial hind limbs
●Tropidophiidae :
○Range: Carrib, C and S Am (patchy)
○2g, 34 sp.
○Ecology: forest loor preds and leaf litter mimics
○Description:
■Small and drab
■Spontaneous hemorrhage defense mech
■Catatonic movement
●Xenophidiidae : Xenophidion
○Range: SE Asia
○1g, 2 sp.
○Ecology:
■Nocturnal and secretive
■Skink predator
○Description
■Hinged teeth
■Enlarged caniniform dentary teeth → eat skinks
●Bolyeridae : Round Island Boas
○Range: Round Island
○2g, 2 sp.
○Description:
■No pelvic vestiges
■Hinged max → skink predation
●Boidae : Boas
○Range: pretty much worldwide besides Aust
○8g, 44 sp.
○Ecology: arboreal bird/mammal specialists
○Description:
■Large
■Vivip
○Corallus - tree boas: IR pits, prehensile tail, hunting posture, big teeth
