On August 14, 1941 Thomas Barbour- the legendary Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles of Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology- described a new boa as "black as a raven's wing- with a glittering pearly iridescence of extraordinary beauty" from North Bimini, Bahamas. Although new to science, the boa was already well-known to the Bimini Islanders as one of the "fowl snakes" native to the Bahamas. The snake in question, the Bimini boa, whose scientific name is Epicrates striatus fosteri, is currently considered to be a close relative, or subspecies, of the Hispaniolan boa of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, but the relationship is not readily apparent. While the Hispaniolan boa is colored with somber tones of chestnut and dusky brown, the Bimini boa is resplendent with its ground color of shimmering black, decorated by a series of irregular grey blotches along the length of the back and a contrasting creamy white belly.
A large boa basking
in the Mangroves
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One of the most amazing attributes of this snake is its large adult size- ca. 8+ feet - coupled with the density of the populations that once existed on North and South Bimini. In the late sixties and early seventies hundreds of these snakes were removed from the Biminis for the pet trade. No ecological studies have ever been published on the Bimini boa, but it is likely that it inhabits a variety of subtropical dry forest habitats on Bimini- including mangrove, where the adults feed opportunistically on rats and birds. Juveniles, too small to feed on these larger prey items, eat Anolis lizards and Eleutherodactylus frogs.
The scales of the Bimini boa |
Mating takes place in early spring and the young are born in early fall. As in other subspecies of E. striatus, this snake has relatively large litters of ca. 20 baby snakes, each weighing ca. 15 g at birth. Like other species of boas, the young are born alive and are ready to hunt within days. There is no parental care. Litter size is dependent on female body size, with younger, smaller females having smaller litters. Bimini boas reach sexual maturity in 3-5 years, depending on how successfully they are able to hunt and grow. While males will attempt to mate each year, females reproduce biennially, or every other year.
A young boa patrolling
the mangroves |
The future of this beautiful snake is uncertain. Once common on all the Biminis, including East Bimini, North Bimini, South Bimini, and Easter Cay, populations have evidently been much reduced by human persecution, illegal collection, and development. Long ago, in the forties, Barbour lamented about "the extermination of what few land vertebrates there were once to be found on such islands as Cat Cay and Gun Cay."
Biminites Josette & Paulette
with their island snake. |
Text Courtesy of:
Peter J. Tolson, Ph.D
Director of Conservation & Research
The Toledo Zoo
P.O. Box 1401030
Toledo, OH 43614-0801
Phone: (419) 385-5721 x2112
FAX: (419) 385-6924
www.toledozoo.org
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