Species of dwarf boa constrictor is discovered in the Amazon in Ecuador – 03/16/2023 – Environment

Earlier this year, a new species of snake was discovered in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest.

Named for Tropidophis cacuangoae (the species name honors a local indigenous leader, Dolores Cacuango, who defended the cause of women and human rights in Ecuador), the animal is part of a group popularly known as the dwarf boa constrictor.

The find represents the second species found for the Amazon region of Ecuador and the fifth in the continental region of South America — all other species of the genus occur in the islands of the West Indies (area known as the Antilles including the Bahamas).

The discovery was published in the specialized journal European Journal of Taxonomy with the collaboration of researchers from Ecuador, Germany and Brazil.

According to biologist Omar Entiauspe-Neto, a master’s student at UFRGS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul) and one of the authors of the study, the snake was found in the Colonso Chalupas Biological Reserve, near the municipality of San Juan de Muyuna, in the province from Napo (about 230 km from Quito). A second specimen was present in the collection of the National Institute of Biodiversity (Inabio), in Ecuador.

“When we saw the snake, we were already almost 100% sure that it was a new species due to its morphological characteristics, but to ensure it was important to have a second specimen to compare with others and determine its morphological and molecular differences”, he said.

Predominantly light brown in color with dark spots, the snake is approximately 30 centimeters from the tip of the snout to the tail and can be distinguished from other species of the genus by the largest row of teeth in the mouth (18 to 21 teeth in the jaw) and the presence of two cervical vertebrae (versus three or more).

A genetic analysis including six other species and 18 more snakes that are unrelated to the new species helped to demonstrate that T. cacuangoae it is a unique species.

According to Neto, as no other snake of the genus was known tropidophis on the Amazonian side of the Andes (the sister species T. taczanowsky lives on the west coast of the Andes) it is likely that the species differentiation event occurred at least 15 million years ago, when the Andes were about a third of their current elevation.

“We have no records of snakes of the genus tropidophis climbing trees, at most bushes or low trees, then it is very likely that T. cacuangoae separated from the other during the uplift of the Andes. It is also more than 4,000 km away from the other continental species in the group, which also indicates that the evolution of South American biomes, especially the dry diagonal [que criou os biomas do cerrado e da caatinga]contributed to the diversification of the group”, explains Neto.

Regarded as primitive in the evolutionary history of snakes, members of the Tropidophiidae family (which also includes the genus Trachyboa) can be considered a relictual group, that is, one that maintained characteristics similar to those of the ancestors that gave rise to other snake species in the last 50 million years.

One feature draws the attention of these animals: like other more primitive groups of snakes, the genus Tropidophis shows remains of the pelvic pelvis (the bones that form the pelvis) and vestigial limbs.

Like boa constrictors, dwarf boa constrictors are non-venomous and feed on whole prey such as small lizards, mice and bird eggs. The difference is that boids (a group that includes boa constrictors and anacondas) have some of the largest snakes currently alive, reaching over 10 meters in length and weighing up to 300 kg.

According to Neto, as only two Amazonian species have been described so far, it is likely that both T. cacuangoae how much T. taczanowsky are threatened in the future. If it is confirmed that they are restricted to these two Amazonian localities in Ecuador, they are definitely placed at greater risk of extinction in the future.