What makes a Boa a Boa?

What is the difference between boas and say, pythons?

pythons lay eggs
boas give live birth

thx. had a feeling ;)

:D

I was happy to see a question asked that I actually knew the answer to for a change :banana:

Along with scale taxonomic schemes and even their organs are slightly different in form and shape.

Encyclopedia definition.
The true boas are divided into two subfamilies, Boinae and Erycinae. Boinae includes the boa constrictor (Boa constrictor), tree boas (genus Corallus), and anacondas (genus Eunectes) of the American tropics; two other genera are found on Madagascar and islands of the southwestern Pacific. Members of Boinae range from 1 metre (3.3 feet) long in some species to commonly more than 4 metres in the giant, or green, anaconda. The boa constrictor occupies a variety of habitats from coastal northern Mexico and the Lesser Antilles to Argentina; though seldom more than 3.3 metres (11 feet) long, some have grown to more than 5 metres. Several tree boas possess sizable teeth used for catching birds. An example is the 1.8-metre (6-foot) emerald tree boa (Corallus caninus) of tropical South America; the adult is green above, with a white dorsal stripe and crossbars, and yellow below. The rainbow boa (Epicrates cenchria) of Costa Rica to Argentina is not strongly patterned but is markedly iridescent. Except for the anacondas, most boines are terrestrial to strongly arboreal. The young often move from the trees to the ground as they get older and larger. Most species have labial (lip) pits with heat-sensing organs that complement their sense of smell and excellent vision. Mammals and birds are common prey, which is usually captured by a bite-grasp followed by constriction.

Subfamily Erycinae includes 10 Asian, Indian, and African species of sand boa (genus Eryx) and the West African earth python (Charina reinhardtii), in addition to two North American species. Erycines are live-bearers (as opposed to egg layers) that have stout cylindrical bodies, blunt heads, and short tails. Most measure less than 70 cm (28 inches). These terrestrial snakes are often subterranean, and most live in arid and semiarid habitats, where they prey on lizards and small mammals. The brown, 45-cm (18-inch) rubber boa (Charina bottae) of western North America is the most northerly boa and is a burrower that looks and feels rubbery. The 90-cm (35-inch) rosy boa (Charina trivirgata), ranging from southern California and Arizona into Mexico, usually is brown- or pink-striped
From Britannica

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Originally Posted by TheHabit

What is the difference between boas and say, pythons?

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Thanks for posting, I was just wondering that myself.

Actually, at least two boas do lay eggs: eryx muelleri and eryx jayakari.

Some other less noticeable differences:

1. With one exceptions, boas do not have a supra-orbital bone. All pythons have this bone.

2. Not all boas have labial pits and if they do, they are located between the labial scales. Pythons, on the other hand, have theirs centered on the labial scales

3. The premaxilla (an area of the jaw) of boas are without teeth, while the premaxilla of most pythons are toothed.

If it has anal spurs, constricts prey, has no venom, gives live birth, and lives in the New World (the Americas), it's a boa. Though could someone explain to me why a KSB is called a boa when it lives in the Old World (the other half of the world)?

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

If it has anal spurs, constricts prey, has no venom, gives live birth, and lives in the New World (the Americas), it's a boa. Though could someone explain to me why a KSB is called a boa when it lives in the Old World (the other half of the world)?

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Probably because they give live birth. Don't forget that we have a python in the new world... the Mexican Burrowing Python. ;)

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

If it has anal spurs, constricts prey, has no venom, gives live birth, and lives in the New World (the Americas), it's a boa. Though could someone explain to me why a KSB is called a boa when it lives in the Old World (the other half of the world)?

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Candoia are boas and do not live in the Americas............Indonesia, Fiji, New Guinea, Solomon Islands - home to various python species.

Remember, some of the sand boas are oviparous - the muelleri (West African Sand boa and the jayakari (Arabian Sand Boa). Granted these eggs are laid very late in the developmental stage, they are laid nonetheless..........

Okay guys, so there there are exceptions about the whole thing with Boas in the New World (besides for SBs) and Pythons in the Old World. How was I suppose to know that if I've only heard of SBs being the only exception?

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

Okay guys, so there there are exceptions about the whole thing with Boas in the New World (besides for SBs) and Pythons in the Old World. How was I suppose to know that if I've only heard of SBs being the only exception?

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Although your profile says your an expert on snakes... you do have to humbly admit your not. :)

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Although your profile says your an expert on snakes... you do have to humbly admit your not. :)

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Obviously I didn't mean all snakes! I never really did research on not-that-famous boas. And what's with the meaningless critism that you could've at least PMed to me instead of posting it in public? Is it just your type?

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

Actually, at least two boas do lay eggs: eryx muelleri and eryx jayakari.

Some other less noticeable differences:

1. With one exceptions, boas do not have a supra-orbital bone. All pythons have this bone.

2. Not all boas have labial pits and if they do, they are located between the labial scales. Pythons, on the other hand, have theirs centered on the labial scales

3. The premaxilla (an area of the jaw) of boas are without teeth, while the premaxilla of most pythons are toothed.

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nicely summarized

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

Obviously I didn't mean all snakes! I never really did research on not-that-famous boas. And what's with the meaningless critism that you could've at least PMed to me instead of posting it in public? Is it just your type?

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because you act like a know it all who pushes their opinion on everyone and can't take constructive criticism

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Originally Posted by qiksilver

nicely summarized




because you act like a know it all who pushes their opinion on everyone and can't take constructive criticism

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Actually, by the way I defined a boa sounded pretty standard, not like a "know-it-all". And what she said wasn't "constructive" at all. I (and most people here) would either keep quiet or tell the person politely.

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

Actually, by the way I defined a boa sounded pretty standard, not like a "know-it-all". And what she said wasn't "constructive" at all. I (and most people here) would either keep quiet or tell the person politely.

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Umm... nope! If you post it as public info, I'll keep it public!

And actually, by the way, you do try to push your opinions on others. :rolleyes:

It is constructive when it's the simple truth! Your not an expert on snakes, and anyone who says they are is greatly over estimating themselves.

If you had wanted your profile statement to be "so obvious", then perhaps you should have worded it as such. Instead, you left it with an open

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I'm an expert about snakes but a newbie when it comes to taking care of them

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Sounds pretty general to me!
Just my .02 cents

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Umm... nope! If you post it as public info, I'll keep it public!

And actually, by the way, you do try to push your opinions on others. :rolleyes:

It is constructive when it's the simple truth! Your not an expert on snakes, and anyone who says they are is greatly over estimating themselves.

If you had wanted your profile statement to be "so obvious", then perhaps you should have worded it as such. Instead, you left it with an open

Sounds pretty general to me!
Just my .02 cents

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Sounds like my pain is your pleasure.

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

Sounds like my pain is your pleasure.

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Not at all ;) If your deriving pain from a simple reality check... then perhaps you need to rethink some things.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Not at all ;) If your deriving pain from a simple reality check... then perhaps you need to rethink some things.

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What reality check? You are embarrassing me and degrading everything I wrote. That's a reality check?

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

What reality check? You are embarrassing me and degrading everything I wrote. That's a reality check?

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Ryan, you've been here before. What you've written lately comes off as a smart alecky attitude to members here and you DO try to push your opinions off on others.

Telling people that they should only ever buy one certain type of animal, when the buyer clearly didn't ask for any opinion, rather it was a thread sharing his new acquisitions.

That does come off as pretty rude, considering you do not know what motivations he had to buy that certain animal. You were in a sense making it sounds as if he had made a bad decision buying them.

It's one thing to share information and give your opinion, but your degrading others in no uncertain terms with what you choose to say.