The Alien Invasive Species Act does not take this scientific name change into account and has Boa Constrictor subspecies listed as a category 2 invasive species requiring a permit ( please note that Boas will be removed from the list for Gauteng). Enough genes changed to be able to separate them as a species. The separation by the Andes effected the genetics of the Common Boa by genes changing in relation to the selection pressures of a slightly different habitat to the Red Tailed Boa. The True Red Tailed Boas evolved east of the Andes mountains so Common Boas and True Red Tailed Boas are separated by the Andes mountains allowing them to evolve into two different species. The new scientific name for the Common Boa is Boa imperator reflecting that it is a separate species notice that the subspecies name β constrictor β is now missing from the name. Due to new genetic evidence the Common Boa has found to be a completley different species from the Red Tailed Boa and are no longer considered a subspecies. The first successful breeding in South Africa of Guyana Red Tailed Boas happened a few weeks ago so they are not commonly bred in South Africa at all. In fact Common Boas can be found as far north as the Sonoran desert in Mexico, whilst Red Tailed Boas are found further south in countries such as Guyana and Surinam where most captive lines of true Red Tailed Boas come from.True Red Tailed Boas have bright red tails whilst Common Boas tend to have brownish or orange tail markings. Only the so called True Red Tailed Boa ( Boa constrictor constrictor) can be called Red Tailed Boas, which live in the Amazon basin and grow much larger than the Common Boas ( Boa constrictor imperator) which are a central American species. There are 8 subspecies of Boa Constrictor with the most commonly available subspecies in the pet trade being Boa Constrictor Imperator. βIt may come to you as a shock but the Red Tailed Boa you have as a pet, see in a pet store, reptile expo or on an online ad is not actually a Red Tailed Boa to explain this we must look into the taxonomy of Boa Constrictor subspecies.
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