A BCI Taxonomy Quandary

[snake man12]

I got to thinking why all the island boas aren't in a separate subspecies from Boa Constrictor Imperator????

Island boas like Hog Island, Caulkers, Crawl cays, and Corn Islands all have different adaptions and obviously should all be put into a different subspecies so why don't all the herpetologists and herptoculturists recognize these clearly different boas as their own species????
Does anybody know why this hasn't been done?

[snake man12]

Look at these boas and tell me if they should be imperators, just look at the different colors and patterns as well as the difference in size and head structure to mail land BCi.

Corn Island vv



Hog Island vvv




Crawl cay Boa vvv


Caulker cay Boa vvvv




How can people tell me these are all the same species??

[Aaron_S]

They don't go "HEY! That looks kind of different. It's a new species!"

It's not how it works. It's based on scientific material and tests. Usually a lot of classification is based on genetics and how close they are to one another on that level as well as scalations and such. It's not colour and pattern that determine it.

[millertime89]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

They don't go "HEY! That looks kind of different. It's a new species!"

It's not how it works. It's based on scientific material and tests. Usually a lot of classification is based on genetics and how close they are to one another on that level as well as scalations and such. It's not colour and pattern that determine it.

werd, just saw an article about American and Cuban crocs hybridizing in the wild. Just because they're genetically similar doesn't necessarily mean they'll be dubbed a new species, but it doesn't mean they wont. "The study found just a 1 percent genetic sequence divergence between Cuban crocodiles and American crocodiles in Cuba yet an 8 percent divergence between American crocodiles in Cuba and other American crocodile populations living in mainland Central America."

Wild Cuban crocodiles hybridize with American crocs

[shaunyboy]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

They don't go "HEY! That looks kind of different. It's a new species!"

It's not how it works. It's based on scientific material and tests. Usually a lot of classification is based on genetics and how close they are to one another on that level as well as scalations and such. It's not colour and pattern that determine it.

^^^^^
that

and imo the taxonomy for snakes is all over the place,with experts arguing amongst themselves half the time

they have not long said bredl's pythons are no longer carpet pythons,they come from a very remote area and have different DNA,to other carpets

taxonomy confuses the hell out of me though

i'm hoping it will improove soon,what with all the genetic studies possible in this day and age

cheers shaun

[snake man12]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

They don't go "HEY! That looks kind of different. It's a new species!"

It's not how it works. It's based on scientific material and tests. Usually a lot of classification is based on genetics and how close they are to one another on that level as well as scalations and such. It's not colour and pattern that determine it.

Haha I did not say they should be specifically different species because of color and pattern but adaptions that make them a different species, for example the Hog Island Boa can change it's color to better camoflage itself during different light conditions.

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by snake man12

Haha I did not say they should be specifically different species because of color and pattern but adaptions that make them a different species, for example the Hog Island Boa can change it's color to better camoflage itself during different light conditions.

You posted pics of these animals after asking why aren't these considered different species from BCI. Clearly, you meant colours and pattern and size.

In other news, it's not easy to get a peer reviewed paper to be accepted. It takes a long time. There's a very good post about dwarf retics from someone who did the work for Retics and how it goes about being changed and the length of time it takes.

Go read.

[millertime89]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

In other news, it's not easy to get a peer reviewed paper to be accepted. It takes a long time. There's a very good post about dwarf retics from someone who did the work for Retics and how it goes about being changed and the length of time it takes.

Go read.

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/giant...erparts-2.html

[Tekpc007]

This is a great read!

Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of the Hog Island Boa Constrictor2011.pdf


Temp Share : Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of the Hog Island Boa Constrictor2011.pdf | Free temporary file hosting

[snake man12]

I just started it and it is great already!!

[Ridge Runner_20]

Also keep in mind that there has really been no true speciation in the genus Boa for many, many millenia. BCI, BCC, BCA, BCO, etc., are all sub-species of the same species, constrictor. The true definition of a differing species within the same genus is reproductive isolation, either due to geographic separation (and thus divergence of the gene pool for better adapted traits), or a specific adaptation to a previously untapped resource within the same geographic region (new food source, habitat, etc.). Now, why couldn't they give the insular boas their own sub-species identification? My guess is simply not enough research and/or evidence to classify them as such. Taxonomy can be a tricky science.

RR_20 (Mike)

[rmfsnakes32]

All this stuff is very confusing for me seems like its ever changing and very opininated depending on who you ask someone always has a paper or thoughts on this subject