Ted – male rosy boa (Lichanura trivirgata)
The rosy boa (Charina trivirgata or Lichanura trivirgata) is a species of snake in the family Boidae. The rosy boa is native to the American Southwest and Baja California and Sonora in Mexico. The rosy boa is one of only two species in the boa family native to the United States, the other being the rubber boa (Charina bottae).
Edward Drinker Cope described the species in 1861. The specific epithet trivirgata refers to the distinct three stripes characteristic of the species. The rosy boa is considered to be the only species within the genus Lichanura, but some researchers have placed it in the genus Charina with the rubber boa (see synonymy). Newer phylogenetic research supports the original arrangement, but herpetologists are still not unified on rosy boa taxonomy. The subspecific designations are just as uncertain, with many sources not accepting L. t. arizonae or L. t. saslowi, and others not recognizing any subspecies as being valid..