boa constrictor
boa constrictor — noun
1. a large heavy-bodied snake of Central and South America that captures its food b
a large heavy-bodied snake of Central and South America that captures its food by coiling around the prey and tightening its grip with each exhale
At the wildlife centre, Yael watched a boa constrictor coil around a branch near the river.
coil + its body + around [object]
A boa constrictor near Manaus felt the agouti's heartbeat slow and loosened its coil.
loosens its coil when it senses the prey has stopped struggling
Sumin shone a torch at a boa constrictor and said it suffocates, not crushes, its prey.
In the rainforest, a boa constrictor waits on a branch and strikes when prey passes below.
- boa
shorter everyday form used in casual speech and pet-keeping contexts
- constrictor
used in scientific writing and zoology to emphasise the squeezing method of killing
2. the non-venomous snake species with light brown skin and darker band-shaped mark
the non-venomous snake species with light brown skin and darker band-shaped markings, commonly kept in captivity, that grows to over three metres in length
The pet shop had a young boa constrictor with light brown scales and dark patterns.
light brown scales + dark saddle-shaped patterns — physical appearance
A team from São Paulo tagged a boa constrictor in Brazil and tracked it for six weeks.
research context: tagged and tracked by a university team
Zookeepers cleaned the glass enclosure where the boa constrictor rested under a heat lamp.
Wildlife researchers warned that the boa constrictor population is shrinking because of deforestation.
- red-tailed boa
a common name for the same species, based on the reddish colour at the tip of the tail