Pseudoboa neuwiedii

{{speciesbox

| name = Pseudoboa neuwiedii

| image = Pseudoboa neuwiedii.jpg

| image_caption = Pseudoboa neuwiedii in a house in El Limón, Venezuela

| image_alt = Pseudoboa neuwiedii photographed in El Limón, (Venezuela)

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author1=Ibáñez, R. |author2=Jaramillo, C. |author3=Caicedo, J. |author4=Rivas, G. |author5=Gutiérrez-Cárdenas, P. |author6=Cisneros-Heredia, D.F. |author7=Nogueira, C. |author8=Murphy, J. |date=2019 |title='Pseudoboa neuwiedii |volume=2019 |page=e.T203579A2768899 |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/203579/2768899 |access-date=20 November 2021}}

| genus = Pseudoboa

| species = neuwiedii

| authority = (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)

| synonyms = *Scytale neuwiedii A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854

Oxyrhopus neuwiedii (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)
Olisthenes euphæus Cope, 1859
Rhinocheilus thominoti Bocourt, 1887
Pseudoboa robinsoni Stejneger, 1902

| synonyms_ref ={{EMBL species|genus=Pseudoboa|species=neuwiedii}}. www.reptile-database.org.Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Oxyrhopus neuwiedii, pp. 112-113).

}}

Pseudoboa neuwiedii, commonly known as the dark-headed red false boa or Neuwied's false boa, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to northern South America.

Geographic range

Pseudoboa neuwiedii is found on the mainland of South America from Colombia to The Guianas, and in Brazil along the Amazon River,Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. (Pseudoboa neuwiedii, p. 107). as well as in Grenada,Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. ("Pseudoboa neuwiedi [sic]", p. 190). and Trinidad and Tobago.

Etymology

The specific name, neuwiedii, is in honor of German naturalist Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied.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}}. (Pseudoboa neuwiedii, p. 189).

Description

Pseudoboa neuwiedii grows to a maximum total length (including tail) of {{convert|1|m|in|abbr=on}}.

Dorsally, it is reddish brown, either uniform or with some scattered small black spots. The top of the head and neck are black or dark brown. There may or may not be a yellowish crossband or collar across the temples and occiput. Ventrally, it is yellowish. This snake is venomous, but due the anatomy of its teeth it has difficulty in inoculating venom, its venom is highly proteolytic and could affect the coagulation by degrading the fibrinogen.{{Cite journal|last1=Torres-Bonilla|first1=Kristian A.|last2=Andrade-Silva|first2=Débora|last3=Serrano|first3=Solange M. T.|last4=Hyslop|first4=Stephen|date=2018-11-01|title=Biochemical characterization of venom from Pseudoboa neuwiedii (Neuwied's false boa; Xenodontinae; Pseudoboini)|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1532045618300887|journal=Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology|language=en|volume=213|pages=27–38|doi=10.1016/j.cbpc.2018.06.003|pmid=29966733|s2cid=49645564 |issn=1532-0456|url-access=subscription}}

Behavior

Pseudoboa neuwiedii is a powerful constrictor.

Diet

Pseudoboa neuwiedii feeds on any animal it can capture and subdue. Individuals have been reported to consume snakes as large as or larger than they themselves are.{{cite book|author=Boos, Hans E. A.|title=The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|location=College Station, Texas|year=2001|isbn=1-58544-116-3}}