Jamaican boa
species of reptile
The Jamaican boa, Jamaican yellow boa, yellow snake or Jamaican green snake (Chilabothrus subflavus); in Jamaican Patois: nanka) is a boa species endemic to Jamaica. No subspecies are recognized. Like all other boas, it is not venomous.
Description
The Jamaican boa is golden-green around the head and along the anterior section of the body, with black zigzag crossbars, becoming black toward the posterior end of its body. The snake's body is quite long, up to 2 metres (6 feet 7 inches) in total length.
Behavior
The Jamaican boa is primarily nocturnal and arboreal. The species may also display crepuscular activity, influenced by factors such as environmental conditions, prey availability, and seasonal activities. During daytime, this species seeks shelter in various locations such as epiphytes, trees, rock crevices, termite nests, or caves. It has been observed at the far end of Portland Cave. This species is also known to bask on rocks following heavy rains and to rest on roads and trails during the evening, suggesting crepuscular behavior under certain conditions.
“Jamaican boa” enters the record as species of reptile. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Jamaican, species and reptile can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Jamaican boa” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Jamaican, species and reptile provides the most credible route into that argument.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2383035. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Jamaican boa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.