Tropidophis battersbyi, also known commonly as Battersby's dwarf boa and the Ecuadorian dwarf boa, is a species of snake in the family Tropidophiidae.McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. (series). (volume). The species is endemic to Ecuador.
Etymology The specific name, battersbyi, is in honor of British herpetologist James Clarence Battersby (1901–1993).Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Tropidophis battersbyi, p. 19).
Description Dorsally, T. battersbyi has four rows of large dark spots. It has a high number of ventral scales, up to 200. It has a low number of maxillary teeth, only 12.
Reproduction T. battersbyi is viviparous. www.reptile-database.org.
References
Further reading Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Tropidophis battersbyi, p. 88). Hedges SB (2002). "Morphological variation and the definition of species in the snake genus Tropidophis (Serpentes, Tropidophiidae)". Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, London, Zoology 68 (2): 83–90. Laurent RF (1949). "Note sur quelques reptiles appartenant à la collection de l'Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique. III. Formes américaines ". Bulletin de l'Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique 25 (9): 1-20. (Tropidophis battersbyi, new species, p. 6). (in French).