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Hello, how is it going.

I'd like to know a little more about some cenchria sbsps, referring assisi, hygrophilus, and xerophilus or polylepis.

Thanks, Emilio

Hello again, how is it going.
I don't find pics about e. c. sbsp. polylepis on the net; if anyone can upload a couple of them, I'd be pleased.

Thanks & best regards, Emilio

Emilio,
...I have gotten several photos of Rainbow Boas from people in the Brasilia and Minas Gerais region. This area is within the large range of polylepis. All of these photos and the photo of a polylepis in Jerry Walls' book "The Living Boas" look like Brazilian Rainbow Boas. I do not know if there are any features to differentiate them from Brazilian Rainbows. The range of polylepis is over 500 miles sougth of the Amazon and well south of the generally recognized range of E. c. cenchria. I have never seen a photo of polylepis on the internet.
Jeff

>>Hello again, how is it going.
>>I don't find pics about e. c. sbsp. polylepis on the net; if anyone can upload a couple of them, I'd be pleased.
>>
>>Thanks & best regards, Emilio

Emilio,
...The asissi, hygrophilus and polylepis subspecies of Epicrates cenchria come from the eastern part of Brazil south of the Amazon. The hygrophilus is from Espirito Santos and so is commonly called the Espirito Santos Rainbow Boa. The polylepis is from the Minas Gerais area and so is commonly called the Minas Gerais Rainbow Boa. The asissi is from the Cantina Grande/Caatinga area and so has both of those geographic features used for common names. The xerophilus has a common name of Rio Branco Rainbow Boa so I assume it is from the area of the Rio Branco in the far western tip of brazil. I have seen photos of hygrophilus and and polylepis and they look much like Epicrates cenchria canchria. I believe that they are smaller than E.c.cenchria. I do not know much about xerophilus and do not know if it more like Epicrates cenchria cenchria or Epicrates cenchria maurus. E.c.polylepis, hygrophilus and xerophilus are non existent in collections outside of South America. There are perhaps 20 specimens of asissi in the USA and as far as I know there are no other specimens outside South America. Epicrates cenchria asissi is marked somewhat like other Rainbow Boas with variations of circular and half circle markings along the back and spots on the sides. The spots on the sides have crescents above them to some extent but much less pronounced than the crescents on Epicrates cenchria cenchria. The asissi also have a stripe on the side of the neck which somewhat limits the spot and crescent pattern on the forward sides of the body. My asissi are smaller than my other Rainbow Boas. I am guessing that maximum size will be around 4.5 feet.
Jeff

>>Hello, how is it going.
>>
>>I'd like to know a little more about some cenchria sbsps, referring assisi, hygrophilus, and xerophilus or polylepis.
>>
>>Thanks, Emilio

The xerophilus has a common name of Rio Branco Rainbow Boa so I assume it is from the area of the Rio Branco in the far western tip of brazil.

Jeff,

The subspecies xerophilus has intrigued me for a while. Do you know anything about their habitat or range?
Rainbows are generally snakes of mesic forests and grasslands, but the name xerophilus implies that this subspecies lives in drier regions than the other rainbows. Is this true? Anyone know?
-----
Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Chris,
...In Bartlett's book he says that xerophilus is similar to asissi and should be grouped in with asissi rather than being a seperate subspecies. I think the xerophilus subspecies will be eliminated in the new classification of the Rainbow Boas. I do not know if it will be lumped in with asissi. My asissi and aklvarezi are much less dependent on high humidity than my other subspecies.
Jeff

>>The xerophilus has a common name of Rio Branco Rainbow Boa so I assume it is from the area of the Rio Branco in the far western tip of brazil.
>>
>>Jeff,
>>
>>The subspecies xerophilus has intrigued me for a while. Do you know anything about their habitat or range?
>>Rainbows are generally snakes of mesic forests and grasslands, but the name xerophilus implies that this subspecies lives in drier regions than the other rainbows. Is this true? Anyone know?
>>-----
>>Chris Harrison
>>San Antonio, Texas

Hello again, how is it going.

Thanks Jeff for answering my questions. But, reading about e. cenchria taxonomy, I could check out that at http://srs.embl-heidelberg.de:8000/srs5bin/cgi-bin/wgetz?-e [REPTILIA-Species:'Epicrates_SP_cenchria'] there're 9 sbsps: cenchria, gaigei, maurus, alvarezi, barbouri, crassus, assisi, hygrophilus, and polylepis; looks like the taxonomists erased xerophilus; maybe xerophilus has been grouped with another sbsp, like assisi (as you said before).

Well, if anyone can upload a couple of pics about higrophilus and polylepis sbsps, I'll be pleased.

Best regards, Emilio (Málaga, Spain)

...way over my head.
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