Casarea dussumieri (Schlegel, 1837)
Round Island keel-scaled boa, Keel-scaled boa, Round Island ground boa, Round Island boa
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonyms: Boa dussumieri Schlegel, 1837; Leptoboa dussumieri (Schlegel, 1837)
Conservation Status
Rediscovered in the 1970's
IUCN RedList status: Vulnerable
Distribution
Round Island, Mauritius
The species' subfossil distribution included Mauritius itself as well as several smaller islands (Gunner's Quoin, Flat Island and Ile de la Passe) (Cole et al., 2018).
Anatomy & Morphology
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Schlegel, H. (1837). Essai sur la physionomie des serpens. In: J. Kips, J. H.Z. et W.P. van Stockum (ed.), Partie Descriptive, La Haye.
Other references:
Arnold, E. N. (1980). Recently extinct reptile populations from Mauritius and Réunion, Indian Ocean. Journal of Zoology 191: 33-47.
Bell, B.D. 2002. The eradication of alien mammals from five offshore islands, Mauritius, Indian Ocean. In: C.R. Veitch and M.N. Cloud (eds), Turning the Tide: the Eradication of Invasive Species, pp. 40-45. IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland.
Bloxam, Q.M.C. and Tonge, S.J. 1986. The Round Island boa Casarea dussumieri breeding programme at the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust. Dodo - Journal of the Wildlife Preservation Trusts 23: 101-107.
Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.). Taylor and Francis, London.
Bullock, D.J. 1986. The ecology and conservation of reptiles on Round Island and Gunner's Quoin, Mauritius. Biological Conservation 37: 135-156.
Bullock, D.J., North, S.G., Dulloo, M.E. and Thorsen, M. 2002. The impact of rabbit and goat eradication on the ecology of Round Island, Mauritius. In: C.R. Veitch and M.N. Clout (eds), Turning the Tide: the eradication of invasive species, pp. 55-63. Invasive Species Specialist Group. Species Survival Commission, World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland.
Cheke, A.S. 1987. An ecological history of the Mascarene Islands, with particular reference to extinctions and introductions of land vertebrates. In: Diamond, A.W. (ed.), Studies of Mascarene island birds, pp. 5-89. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
Cheke, A.S. and Hume, J.P. 2008. Lost Land of the Dodo: and ecological history of Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues. Yale University Press.
Cole, N. 2005. The ecological impact of the invasive house gecko Hemidactylus frenatus upon endemic Mauritian geckos. PhD thesis. University of Bristol.
Cole, N. 2009. A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Mauritius. Mauritius Wildlife Foundation, Vacoas, Mauritius.
Cole, N., Hector, A., Roopa, P., Mootoocurpen, R. and Goder, M. (2018). Casarea dussumieri (errata version published in 2019). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T3989A152276140. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T3989A152276140.en. Accessed on 27 November 2022.
Cole, N., Mootoocurpen, R. and Nundlaul, V. 2018. Relative density estimates of Round Island's reptiles. The Journal of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Mauritius 1: 1-22.
Cundall, D. and Irish, F.J. 1986. Aspects of locomotor and feeding behaviour in the Round Island boa Casarea dussumieri. Dodo, Journal of the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trusts 23: 108-111.
Cundall, D. and Irish, F.J. 1989. The function of the intramaxillary joint in the Round Island Boa, Casarea dussumieri. Journal of Zoology 217: 569-598.
Duméril, A.M.C. and Bibron, G. 1844. Erpétologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles. Tome sixième. Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, Paris.
Frazzetta, T.H. 1971. Notes upon the jaw musculature of the Bolyerine snake, Casarea dussumieri. Journal of Herpetology 5: 61-63.
Goder, M., Mootoocurpen, R., Mellier, S., Hayes, R., Nundlaul, V., Roopa, P. and Cole, N. 2015. Restoration of Island Ecosystems in Mauritius: The Reptile Recovery Programme Annual Report 2015. Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Vacoas, Mauritius.
Hector, A., Daniel, S. and Brown, H. 2016. Mauritian Wildlife Foundation Round Island Restoration Report 2016 Annual Report. Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Vacoas, Mauritius.
Korsós, Zoltan and Trócsányi, Balazs. (2002). Herpetofauna of Round Island, Mauritius. Biota 3(1-2): 77-84.
McAlpine, D.F. 1981. Activity patterns of the keel-scaled boa Cassarea dussumieri at the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust. Dodo - Journal of the Wildlife Preservation Trusts 24: 19-43.
Merton, D.V. 1987. Eradication of rabbits from Round Island, Mauritius: a conservation success story. Dodo: Journal of the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust 24: 19-43.
Merton, D. V.; Atkinson, I. A. E.; Strahm, W.; Jones, C.; Em[son, R. A.; Mungroo, Y.; Dulloo, E.; Lewis, R. 1989. A management plan for the restoration of Round Island, Mauritius.
MRRP. 2012. Restoration of Island Ecosystems in Mauritius: The Mauritius Reptile Recovery Programme Annual Report. Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Jersey, Channel Islands.
Temple, S. 1974. Last chance to save Round Island. Wildlife 16: 370-374.
Vinson, J. 1975. Notes on the reptiles of Round Island. The Mauritius Institute Bulletin 8: 49-67.
Zuël, N. 2009. Ecology and Conservation of an Endangered Reptile Community on Round Island, Mauritius. PhD Thesis. Universität Zürich.