Sexual maturation in free-ranging Chilabothrus angulifer (Serpentes: Boidae)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v15i2p163-174Keywords:
Cuba, Cuban Boa, endemic snake, minimum breeding size, reproductive biology, West IndiesAbstract
The Cuban Boa (C. angulifer) is the only boid snake in Cuba. It is the largest member of the genus, as well as the largest snake in the West Indies (> 400 cm in snout-vent length); as such, it is an iconic species of the Cuban herpetofauna. Although the snake’s natural history is poorly known, several studies describe aspects of its reproductive biology in captivity. Herein we document the sizes and ages at which both sexes reach sexual maturity in nature, and show that the Cuban Boa reaches adulthood at a much smaller size than previously reported for captive snakes. Based on the limited information on the growth rate of C. angulifer in nature, males must reach breeding size after 3 years and females after 5 yearsDownloads
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Published
2016-12-22
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All material originally published in Phyllomedusa belongs to Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz - Universidade de São Paulo. All contents are under a license of Creative Commons BY-NC-ND.How to Cite
Rodríguez-Cabrera, T. M., López, J. T., Marrero, R., Savall, E. M., & Ochotorena, A. S. (2016). Sexual maturation in free-ranging Chilabothrus angulifer (Serpentes: Boidae). Phyllomedusa: Journal of Herpetology, 15(2), 163-174. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v15i2p163-174