Southern Rubber Boa
(Charina umbratica)
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Southern Rubber Boa (Charina umbratica) |
Color Photographs: Chris Brown, U.S. Geological Survey
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Charina bottae The distribution of the Northern Rubber Boa does not overlap that of the Southern Rubber Boa and is absent from Southern California. Rubber Boa (Charina bottae) Identification: Snake14 to 32 inches in length. Body rotund and feeling rubbery. Skin gathers in folds where the body bends. Color brown to gray-olive without any pattern. Belly yellow to cream-white. Tail blunt, tip rounded. Dorsal body scales small and smooth. Top of head covered with large, symmetrical scales. Underside of head without two pairs of enlarged scales (chin shields). Body with 44 or fewer scale rows. Geographical Variation: None. Range (see map below): This species has a very restricted distribution and is limited to the San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and Tehachapi Mountains of Southern California. Habitat: The Southern Rubber Boa is found in montane oak-conifer, and conifer forests. Food: Small mammals, birds, and lizards. Behavior: The Southern Rubber Boa is nocturnal or crepuscular. It spends most of its time under logs and rocks. Reproduction: This species is a live bearer. The adults mate in the spring and 2 to 8 young are borne in the later summer or early fall.
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Southern Rubber Boa (Charina umbratica)
Similar Species: Northern Rubber Boa (Charina bottae)
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Similar Species: |
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