Amazon Tree Boa
Corallus
hortulanus
Linnaeus 1758
Probably the most amazing of the Corallus, Amazon tree boas are truly gems of the snake world. Only rarely can you find a species that exhibits the diverse array of coloration and patterning that you see in Corallus hortulanus. There are individuals that are gray or black in color and then there are individuals that are the most stunning red, orange, or yellow. The variation is incredible. In Kaleidoscopic Tree Boas by Peter Stafford and Robert Henderson, there is a series of four photo plates showing four differently colored Amazon tree boas- all photographed along the same trail in Brazil.
But not only is the Amazon tree boa diverse in color and pattern but also in habitat. Its range is one of the largest of all the Boines. Before 1997, when the Amazon tree boa included C. cookii, C. grenadensis, and C. ruschenbergerii, its range stretched from Costa Rica into Bolivia and southeastern Brazil. Even with the elevation to species status of the aforementioned species, the range of C. hortulanus is still expansive- encompassing the entire Amazon rain forest as well as drier areas in southeastern Brazil. This large distribution exposes the Amazon tree boa to different habitats. While other species such as the emerald tree boa cannot utilize all the ecological niches, the Amazon tree boa has found ways to survive and succeed in many of these niches.
Perhaps what is most perplexing about the Amazon tree boa to new enthusiasts is the large quantities of both scientific and common names which have been applied to them. The Amazon tree boa, as it is currently known, is Corallus hortulanus. Formerly, it was Corallus enydris. And for the longest time, the species which are now C. cookii, C. grenadensis, and C. ruschenbergerii were all considered Cook's tree boas and placed as a subspecies of the Amazon tree boa as either C. hortulanus cookii or C. enydris cookii. So, according to Roy McDiarmid, T'Shaka Touré, and Jay M. Savage, Corallus enydris should be properly named Corallus hortulanus. And according to Robert Henderson, Corallus cookii is a species, not a subspecies, and Corallus grenadensis is a new species as well as is Corallus ruschenbergerii.
What does that all mean to you who keep Amazon tree boas? Here comes more confusion. Probably 99% of the individuals in the country are Amazon tree boas, Corallus hortulanus. Several decades ago now, a few importers began calling yellow Amazon tree boas "C. cookii". Then to add to the mix-up, some dealers also began calling garden phase Amazon tree boas "Cook's tree boas" and so a common pet trade animal, the "Cook's tree boa", became a very mis-identified animal and people became very confused. Both of these cases of "Cook's tree boa" should be called Amazon tree boa in a majority of cases. Only a very small number of true Cook's tree boas exist in the pet trade. Either way, you always get the attitude that has made Amazon tree boas so famous :) But their beauty and relative hardiness in captivity make them fascinating animals.
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