 Emerald
Tree Boa
scientific name
Corallus
caninus
size
Length:
up to 6 ft. reported to 9 ft in Amazon basin
characteristics
Color:
green • white transverse band on dorsal surface • newly born
brick-red or dull orange (may mimic vipers)
Senses: large pits along jaw with heat sensing cells (more than most
boas)
Teeth: long recurved teeth to hold prey
Other: spurs on either side of cloaca, • prehensile tail
Behavior:
arboreal • drape coiled over a horizontal branch with head resting
in center • hangs head down to ambush prey • must hang downwards
to swallow prey • move with concertina or “inchworm”
motion
reproduction/life
span
Mate. males
sexually mature at 3-4 yr. females at 4-5 yr.
Breeding season: anytime of year commonly in winter • breed usually
every other year
Gestation. 6-7 mo
Birth: bear live young • litters up to 20
diet
Wild: carnivore
• arboreal rodents, monkeys, squirrels birds, bats
habitat/range
Habitat:
wet lowland rain forest (areas that receive over 60 in. rain)
Range: Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Guyana, French Guiana, Surinam,
and Brazil
status
not listed
other
green color
from a combination of effects, under scales is layer of cells with yellow
pigment (xanthophores) • the layer under that contains reflecting
particles (iridiphores) that reflect blue (Tyndall scattering just like
the blue of the sky) • white pattern on dorsal surface mimics spots
of sunlight
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