NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Central American Boa Constrictor
Boa imperator Daudin, 1803
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Boa imperator (or Boa constrictor imperator in common usage) is a large and heavy-bodied arboreal species of nonvenomous, constrictor-type snake in the family Boidae. One of the most popular pet snakes (often bred in captivity) in the world, B. imperator's native range is from Mexico through Central and South America (west of the Andes Mountains, mainly in Colombia), with local populations on several small Caribbean islands. It is commonly called the Central American boa, northern boa, Colombian boa (or Colombian red-tailed boa), common boa and common northern boa.
Wikipedia contributors, Boa imperator; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:06:12.103948+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Boa imperator Daudin, 1803
- Name authority
- Daudin, 1803
- Common name
- Central American Boa Constrictor
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Boidae
- Genus
- Boa
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyBoidae
- subfamilyBoinae
- genusBoa
- speciesBoa imperator Daudin, 1803
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Boa. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Dominican Boa ConstrictorBoa nebulosa (Lazell, 1964) | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mexican West Coast Boa ConstrictorBoa sigma (Smith, 1943) | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Argentine Boa Constrictor [occidentalis]Boa constrictor Linnaeus, 1758 | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Boa constrictor var. isthmica Garman, 1883 Garman, 1883 | synonym |
| Boa eques Eydoux & Souleyet, 1842 Eydoux & Souleyet, 1842 | synonym |
| Boa diviniloquax var. mexicana Jan, 1863 Jan, 1863 | synonym |
| Epicrates sabogae Barbour, 1906 Barbour, 1906 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Boa&species=imperator Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:68LTZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.