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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Argentine Boa Constrictor [occidentalis]

Boa constrictor Linnaeus, 1758

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.

Red-tailed boa (Boa constrictor constrictor), Rio Napo, Sucumbios, Ecuador

Red-tailed boa (Boa constrictor constrictor), Rio Napo, Sucumbios, Ecuador

Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image source

Provider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.

Open encyclopedia reference

The boa constrictor (scientific name also Boa constrictor), also known as the common boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family Boidae. The species is native to tropical South America. A staple of private collections and public displays, its color pattern is highly variable yet distinctive. Four subspecies are recognized.

Wikipedia contributors, Boa constrictor; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:18:05.398073+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Boa constrictor Linnaeus, 1758
Name authority
Linnaeus, 1758
Common name
Argentine Boa Constrictor [occidentalis]
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.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
  9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
  10. suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
  11. infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
  12. familyBoidae
  13. subfamilyBoinae
  14. genusBoa
  15. speciesBoa constrictor Linnaeus, 1758

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Boa. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Central American Boa ConstrictorBoa imperator Daudin, 1803BoidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Dominican Boa ConstrictorBoa nebulosa (Lazell, 1964)BoidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Mexican West Coast Boa ConstrictorBoa sigma (Smith, 1943)BoidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 51 records assigned to Boidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Constrictor constrictor occidentalis Ihering, 1911 Ihering, 1911synonym
Constrictor auspex Laurenti, 1768 Laurenti, 1768synonym
Boa ortonii Cope, 1878 Cope, 1878synonym
Boa constrictor melanogaster Langhammer, 1983 Langhammer, 1983synonym
Boa constrictrix Schneider, 1801 Schneider, 1801synonym
Constrictor constrictor amarali Stull, 1932 Stull, 1932synonym
Constrictor diviniloquus Laurenti, 1768 Laurenti, 1768synonym
Constrictor formosissimus Laurenti, 1768 Laurenti, 1768synonym
Euncetes murinus Berg, 1893 Berg, 1893synonym
Boa occidentalis Philippi, 1873 Philippi, 1873synonym
Boa constrictor amarali Stull, 1932 Stull, 1932synonym
Constrictor rex serpentum Laurenti, 1768 Laurenti, 1768synonym
Boa atlantica Gonzalez, Lima, Passos & Silva, 2024 Gonzalez, Lima, Passos & Silva, 2024synonym
Boa constrictor ortonii Cope, 1878 Cope, 1878ambiguous synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Colombia (Valle del Cauca), Venezuela (Merida [HR 27: 88], Isla Margarita), Guyana, French French Guiana, Suriname, Peru (Pasco etc.), Bolivia, Brazil (Amapá, Pará, Rondonia, Roraima, Bahia, Sergipe, RO, Amazonas, Pará, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Distrito Federal, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Piauí, Mato Grosso, Goiás, S Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte), Argentina, Paraguay

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.

  1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Boa&species=constrictor 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.

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:M7TX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.