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 Madagascar and other IslandsThe Biological Wealth of an Impoverished Country: Reptiles and Amphibians: Page 4 Among Madagascar's 80 types of snakes--all non-poisonous--are three boas, whose closest relatives are found in South America (Burger and Price 1996). They are thought to be among the island's most ancient inhabitants, resident since the early breakup of Gondwana (Preston‑Mafham 1991). All are considered Vulnerable by the IUCN (Hilton-Taylor 2000): Dumeril's Boa (Acrantophis dumerili), Madagascar Boa (Acrantophis madagascariensis), and the Madagascar Tree Boa (Sanzinia madagascariensis). The first two are Madagascar's largest snakes, reaching almost 6 feet in length; Dumeril's Boa is restricted to the south and southwest, while the Madagascar Boa is found in the north and northeast (Preston‑Mafham 1991). Both species require humid habitats along streams and watercourses. Placid and slow‑moving, they are often killed or captured by local people. The Madagascar Tree Boa is smaller and more common, shaded in delicate grayish-green with a purplish‑blue tinge. Little is known of any of these species' life histories and diets (Preston‑Mafham 1994). A very rare and possibly extinct snake, Pararhadinea albignaci, is known only from a single specimen picked up, dead, off the road in eastern Madagascar in 1970. This species has never been seen alive in its forest home (Preston-Mafham 1991).
One of the most extraordinary snakes in the world, Langaha nasuta, mimics a dry, pencil-thin twig to camouflage itself among the leaves. The female's nose is extended into a leaf‑shaped structure adorned with scales and small tooth‑like projections, while the nose of the male is elongated, tapering into a sharp point to resemble a thorn (photo in Preston‑Mafham 1991 and Lamar 1997).
A smuggling operation involving hundreds of Madagascar reptiles was exposed in August 1996, when six men were charged with conspiracy to smuggle rare Madagascar reptiles into the United States and Canada. According to the U.S. Justice Department, two men were arrested at Orlando International Airport in Florida with 61 Madagascan tree snakes in their suitcases that were to be sold at a large reptile breeders show in Orlando (Reuters 1996). Four Germans, one Canadian and one South African were indicted. Simon Harris, the South African, had $100,000 worth of rare reptiles in his luggage; he cooperated to implicate the other suspects, who are still being sought (Reuters 1996). These smugglers shipped snakes and tortoises, concealed in suitcases, from Europe to Canada and the United States and received payment by international wire transfers. Most of the snakes and tortoises were listed on CITES. In 1998, 26 Madagascan Tree Boas were seized in Belgium, and an American reptile dealer was caught by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the latter species and Dumeril's Ground Boas in his luggage at Miami International Airport (TRAFFIC 1999a).
The sea turtles inhabiting Madagascar's coastal waters are heavily exploited in spite of their listing on Appendix I of CITES. A survey in 1971 estimated that 13,000 were killed along the west coast alone (Burger and Price 1996). Little is known of their present populations.
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