Boa (genus)

Boa is a genus of boas found in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Six extant species, and one extinct, are currently recognized.

Etymology

The Online Etymology Dictionary says that the word comes from the "late 14c., "large snake", from Latin boa, type of large serpent mentioned in Pliny's "Natural History;" origin unknown."
There might be a connection to the Albanian word bollë, from proto-Albanian *bālwā, meaning any of various nonvenomous snakes of the families Colubridae family, Boidae family or a kuçedër's early form.

Distribution and habitat

Boa species are found in northern Mexico through Central America to South America north of 35°S. One species is present in the Lesser Antilles, on San Andrés, Providencia and many other islands along the Caribbean coasts of Mexico and Central and South America.

Taxonomy

Kluge moved the genera Sanzinia and Acrantophis into Boa, based on a phylogeny derived from morphological characters. However, it has since been shown that the Malagasy boids and Boa constrictor do not form a monophyletic group, and the lumping of Sanzinia, Acrantophis and Boa was, therefore, an error. These snakes are therefore correctly represented in their own genera: Sanzinia and Acrantophis.
To add further to the naming confusion, many species of snake in the family Boidae are known colloquially as "boas". Also, four subspecies of B. constrictor are recognized, each with a distinct common name.