Candoia paulsoni, also known commonly as Paulson's bevel-nosed boa, the Solomon Islands ground boa, and the Solomons ground boa, is a species of snake in the subfamily Candoiinae of the family Boidae. The species is native to the Maluku Islands and Melanesia. Six subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies Six subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. C. p. paulsoni (Stull, 1956) – the Solomon Islands C. p. vindumi H.M. Smith & Chiszar, 2001 – Bougainville Island C. p. tasmai H.M. Smith & Tepedelen, 2001 – Halmahera and the Talaud Islands, as well as Sulaweside Lang, Ruud; Vogel, Gernot (2006). "The Snakes of Sulawesi". In: Vences, Miguel; Köhler, Jörn; Ziegler, Thomas; Böhme, Wolfgang (editors) (2006). Herpetologia Bonnensis II. Proceedings of the 13th Congress of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica. . pp. 35–38. C. p. mcdowelli H.M. Smith & Chiszar, 2001 – eastern Papua New Guinea C. p. sadlieri H.M. Smith & Chiszar, 2001 – Woodlark Island C. p. rosadoi H.M. Smith & Chiszar, 2001 – Misima Island
Geographic distribution Candoia paulsoni is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The type locality is Ugi Island in the Solomon Islands.
Behavior Candoia paulsoni is both terrestrial and arboreal, and it is mainly nocturnal. Young snakes feed on skinks, while larger individuals eat larger lizards and small mammals. This snake has been found deep within limestone caves where it may have been eating small bats and/or juvenile frogs of the genus Cornufer.
Reproduction Candoia paulsoni is viviparous. Litter size can be as many as 20 young.
Etymology The specific name paulsoni is in honor of Swedish herpetologist John Paulson.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. (Candoia paulsoni, p. 202; C. p. mcdowelli, p. 173; C. p. rosadoi, p. 226; C. p. sadlieri, p. 231; C. p. tasmai, p. 261; C. p. vindumi, p. 275).
The subspecific name, mcdowelli, is in honor of American herpetologist Samuel Booker McDowell Jr.
The subspecific name, rosadoi, is in honor of herpetologist José P. O. Rosado of the Museum of Comparative Zoology.
The subspecific name, sadlieri, is in honor of Australian herpetologist Ross Allen Sadlier.
The subspecific name, tasmai, is in honor of Indonesian reptile breeder Budiyanto Tasma.
The subspecific name, vindumi, is in honor of American herpetologist Jens Verner Vindum.
References
Further reading
(five new subspecies: Candoia paulsoni mcdowelli, C. p. rosadoi, C. p. sadlieri, C. p. tasmai, C. p. vindumi). (Enygrus carinatus paulsoni, new subspecies).