Snakes Part 2
Herpetoculture
Pensacola Jr College
Classification
w Class Reptilia
w Order Squamata
w Suborder Serpentes
Family Pythonidae
Family Boidae
Family Typhlopidae
Family Colubridae
Family Elapidae
Family Viperidae
Primitive Snake
Forms (boas and pythons)
w Fewer / larger head scales
w Narrower ventral scutes than
in advanced snakes
w Vestigial hind limbs (spurs,
larger in males)
w Coronoid bone present
w Two lungs present
Family Pythonidae
= pythons
27 species
Family Pythonidae
w Range: Africa, SE Asia,
Australia, Central America (mostly Old World)
w Physical characteristics:
Primitive snake form
Short tail with paired
subcaudal scutes
Premaxillary teeth
Family Pythonidae
w Habitat: rainforest and
scrublands
w Arboreal, terrestrial, or
burrowing
w Feeding: mammals and birds
killed by constriction
w Oviparous, many females
protect eggs (a few incubate)
Ball Python
Reticulated Python
Burmese Pythons (+ albino)
Carpet Python
Green Tree Python
African Burrowing
Python
Mexican Burrowing
Python
Sunbeam Snake
Family Boidae =
boas and anacondas
39 species
Family Boidae
w Range: N and S America,
Africa, Asia (mostly New World)
w Physical characteristics:
Primitive snake form
Long tail with single
subcaudal scutes
No premaxillary teeth
Heat pits on lips
Family Boidae
w Habitat: deserts to forests
w Terrestrial, arboreal,
burrowing, or aquatic
w Feeding: vertebrate prey,
killed by constriction
w Ovoviviparous, up to 80
offspring with no further parental care
Green Anaconda
Green Anaconda
Boa Constrictor
Coastal Rosy Boa
Emerald Tree Boa
Amazon Tree Boa
Rough-scaled Sand
Boa
African Sand Boa
Rubber Boa
Fiji Boa (+
newborn)
Jamaican Boa
Other Primitive
Snakes
Red Pipesnake
Haitian Dwarf Boa
Round Island
keel-scaled snake
Blind Snake Forms
(4 families)
w Vestigial pelvic bones
w Coronoid bone present
w Left lung lost
w Burrowing characteristics:
Skull bones fused
Head scutes reduced except
large rostral scute
w Burrowing characteristics
(contd):
Ventral scutes reduced to
equal dorsal scute size
Cylindrical body shape
Vestigial eyes under head
scutes
Family Typhlopidae
= majority of blind snakes
163 species (but low diversity of form)
Family Typhlopidae
w Range: Some on each
continent, primarily tropics / subtropics
w Physical characteristics:
Blind snake form
Moveable toothed upper jaw
Toothless lower jaw
Family Typhlopidae
w Habitat: grasslands, scrub,
and rainforests
w Burrowers
w Feeding: mainly ants and
termites
w Oviparous or ovoviviparous
(Flowerpot snake is all female, parthenogenic)
Flowerpot Snake
Southern Blind
Snake
Prongsnout Blind
Snake
Beaked Blind Snake
Madagascar Blind
Snake
Other Blind Snakes
Western Thread
Snake
Slender Thread
Snake
Shieldtail Snake
Dawn Blind Snake