Corallus ruschenbergerii

{{speciesbox

| image = Corallus ruschenbergerii.JPG

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite journal | author = Acosta Chaves, V. | display-authors = etal | title = Corallus ruschenbergerii | journal = IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | volume= 2016 | page = e.T203211A2762201 | year = 2016 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T203211A2762201.en | doi-access = free }}

| taxon = Corallus ruschenbergerii

| authority = (Cope, 1875)

| synonyms = *Xiphosoma ruschenbergerii
{{small|Cope, 1875}}

Xiphosoma ruschenbergii [sic]
{{small|Boulenger, 1893}} (ex errore)
Corallus cookei var. ruschenbergi
{{small|— Boettger, 1898}}
Boa ruschenbergii
{{small|— Stejneger, 1901}}
Boa salmonidia
{{small|Briceño-Rossi, 1934}}
Corallus ruschenbergerii
{{small|— Henderson, 1997}}

| synonyms_ref =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).

}}

Corallus ruschenbergerii, commonly known as the Central American tree boa, common tree boa, and Trinidad tree boa, is a boa species found in lower Central America and northern South America. No subspecies are currently recognized.{{ITIS |id=634795 |taxon=Corallus ruschenbergerii |accessdate=14 July 2008}} Like all boas, it is not venomous.

Etymology

The specific name, ruschenbergerii, is in honor of William Ruschenberger, who was a United States Navy surgeon.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 ruschenbergerii, p. 229).

Description

Corallus ruschenbergerii is one of the largest members of the genus Corallus with adults reaching up to {{convert|2|m}} in total length (including tail). The colors are typically shades of yellow, brown or gray, although populations on Trinidad and Tobago are often a patternless pure bronze.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}}.

Geographic range

Corallus ruschenbergerii is found in Lower Central America in southwestern Costa Rica (south of 10° N) and Panama, including Isla del Rey, Isla Contadora, Isla de Cébaco and Isla Suscantupu. In South America it occurs in Colombia east of the Andes, north of the Cordillera Central and north of the Cordillera Oriental, northern Venezuela north of the Cordillera de Mérida and in the drainage of the Río Orinoco, north and west of the Guiana Shield, east of the Orinoco Delta. It is also found on Isla Margarita, Trinidad and Tobago. The type locality given is "Panama".

Habitat

Corallus ruschenbergerii is a relatively common species found in wide range of habitats from near sea level to about {{convert|1000|m|abbr=on}} above sea level: mangroves, riparian forests, wet and dry lowland forests, tree-lined savanna, and palm groves. It is nocturnal.

Feeding

The primary diet of C. ruschenbergerii consists of rodents and other small mammals (such as bats and mouse opossums), as well as lizards, frogs and birds.{{cite web|url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Corallus_ruschenbergerii%20-%20Tree%20Boa%20or%20Cascabel%20Dormillion.pdf|title=Corallus ruschenbergerii (Tree Boa or Cascabel Dormillion) |website=Sta.uwi.edu|access-date=18 March 2022}}{{cite web | url=https://herpetologytt.blogspot.com/2016/06/ruschenbergers-treeboa-corallus.html | title=The Herpetology of Trinidad and Tobago: Ruschenberger's Treeboa, Corallus ruschenbergerii (Family Boidae) | date=30 June 2016 }}

Captivity

Still fairly rare in captivity, C. ruschenbergerii is only recently becoming more common in the United States.

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{NRDB species|genus=Corallus |species=ruschenbergerii |accessdate=23 February 2017}}

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