Rubber Boa Montana

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Rubber boa montana.

Meet the rubber boa. Montana department of fish wildlife and parks nongame program. Found throughout montana at elevations below 6 600 feet fig. The rubber boa charina bottae is a snake in the genus charina of the family boidae.

Like those snakes it kills prey by squeezing it to death with its muscular body and swallows the meal whole. Montana s rubber boa is the northernmost relative of the giant boa constrictor and anaconda of south america. They are visual hunters and are active during daylight hours. The rubber boa is a snake that actually looks like a long elongated rubber tube.

In montana this boa is found in western and. The rubber boa s common name comes from its rubbery appearance the result of small smooth scales and somewhat loose skin. Jeff the nature guy and special guest sam the nature dude talk about the rubber boa snake. The rubber boa is a primitive snake compared to its much larger relatives native to latin america which include the boa constrictor emerald tree boa and green anaconda.

The rubber boa has retained the club like tail of its erycine ancestors. Yellowstone nature notes 8 9. They are fairly small snakes growing between one and two feet in lengths. A new record for the rubber snake charina bottae.

Amphibian and reptile survey on selected montana bureau of reclamation impoundments. Northern rubber boa boas have a brown dark brown or olive coloration. The rubber boa snake could not have been given a more appropriate name as its loose and wrinkly skin does give the feeling that it is made of rubber. The southern rubber boa is found only in a few disjunct areas of california.

One of the earliest of the boa species even older than the much larger boa constrictor this small reptile is found widely across north america. They prefer areas with grasslands and sagebrush where insects and rodents are abundant. The genus charina consists of four species three of which are found in north america and one species found in africa. The reason it appears rubbery is because of its loose skin with hundreds of tiny smooth scales that gives the reptile a smooth glossy appearance.

The northern rubber boa charina bottae range is limited to the western one third of montana.