Charina bottae (Northern Rubber Boa)
Credit: Brad Shaffer
about the species
The Northern rubber boa is a wide-ranging ecological generalist, while the closely related (some consider them subspecies) Southern rubber boa (C. umbratica) is a narrowly distributed mountain-top endemic. Taken together this pair provide widespread representation of the cool, mesic habitats characterizing the coast ranges, Sierra Nevada, and mountains of northern California. Rubber boas are small, generalist constrictors (they prey on salamanders, lizards, immature rodents and birds), and uniquely cool-weather adapted snakes in the boa constrictor family.
why species was selected
From a conservation perspective, the southern rubber boa is a California state listed species (threatened) and is a candidate for federal listing under the US Endangered Species Act. There are very few members of the tropical family Boidae that venture into temperate regions, and the Rubber boa complex are, as a consequence, of high conservation value as a unique flagship species.
