Family Boidae
Chilabothrus inornatus (Reinhardt, 1843)
Figure 4A–H
Materials examined. PUERTO RICO – Arecibo • Mata de
Plátano Field Station and Nature Reserve; 18.414, -66.729; 151 m above
sea level; Justin Matthew Bernstein, Camilo Andrés Calderón-Acevedo,
Pedro Ivo Mônico, Lázaro Willian Viñola-Lopez, J. Angel Soto-Centeno;
Individual 1–8 – adult individuals found hanging on branches or on
rock ledges of entrance of Cueva de los Culebrones, either perched or
dangling vertically. One individual observed eating Mormoops
blainvillei . All individuals seen at once at 7:00 PM; Individuals 9–11
– juvenile individuals found hanging verticlles from branches or rock
ledges of entrance of Cueva de los Culebrones at 7:00 PM. All juveniles
seen at the same time as Individuals 1–8; Individual 12 – found inside
Cueva de los Culebrones ~17.6 m depth moving along the
ground; Individuals 13–14 – adult skeletons, found at
~17.6 m depth in Cueva de los Culebrones; one skeleton
~30 m past cave entrance; second skeleton
~15 m before cave thermocline at ~20 m
depth. Individuals 15–16 – live adults, found coiled on limestone wall
ledges ~1 m above the ground at the point of the
thermocline inside Cueva de los Culebrones, at ~20 m
depth.
Identification. As the only boa on Puerto Rico, this snake is
unequivocally identifiable as E. inornatus . Its large, stout
body, grey/silver scales, and the lack of labial thermic receptors are
key characters of this species. Chilabothrus inornatus is
distinguished from C. granti by the latter only being found on
satellite islands (Culebra, and islets to the east) and C.
monensis only found on Mona Island. Bones found in Cueva de los
Culebrones were identified by the enlarged, recurved teeth
characteristic of boids; all other snakes on the island lack these and
have much smaller teeth.