Emerald Tree Boa

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

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