Pythons have ended up being placed in a sister group to this superfamily, the Pythonidea. Among the results, they found that boas and pythons, despite being very similar, are not closely related.įor this reason, boas and some similar snakes are grouped within the superfamily Booidea. There are many controversies regarding the classification of these reptiles, so the University of Massachusetts, in conjunction with Yale, conducted research that reconsiders their taxonomy. The closest relatives that they share some common features with are the pythons. These reptiles have a great variety of physical characteristics, and so there are different discussions about their taxonomic classification. Most species of boas have large, wide bodies, with different types of colorations, depending on the area they inhabit. In addition, they have an infrared detection system that helps them facilitate this process. They don’t have any venom and so they use constriction and macrostomia as a means to be able to hunt and feed. Because of this, they’re considered the most ancestral group of these reptiles.īoas belong to the Boidae family, and their members have the ability to capture and consume prey larger than its own head. In general, experts claim that in the evolution of snakes, there was a loss of limbs, until they reached appearances like those we know today.īoas seem to have vestiges of these limbs, as if they were an intermediate step between the old and current snakes.
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