Taxonomy
The Rubber Boa (Charina bottae) is a snake in the family Boidae and genus Charina. The name Charina is from the Greek for graceful or delightful, and the name bottae honors Dr. Paolo E. Botta, an Italian ship's surgeon, explorer and naturalist. The Boidae family consists of the nonvenomous snakes commonly called boas and consists of 43 species. The genus Charina consists of four species, three of which are found in North America, and one species found in Africa. It is sometimes also known as the Coastal Rubber Boa or the Northern Rubber Boa and is not to be confused with the Southern Rubber Boa (Charina umbratica). There is debate on whether the Southern Rubber Boa should be a separate species or a subspecies (Charina bottae umbratica). The only other boa species found in the United States is the Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata).
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