The family Boidae is divided into several subfamilies. Dumeril's boas belong to the subfamily Boinae. The species was named after the 19th century French naturalist A. M. C. Dumeril. Dumeril's boas are closely related to the familiar boa constrictor of Latin America. Their pattern helps them hide effectively in the dry leaf litter of the forest floor.
Females are larger than males.
If she is receptive, she allows him to align his body with hers, opens her cloaca, and lets him insert one of his paired copulatory organs, called hemipenes. Babies are born alive about six to eight months later. Dumeril's boas reach sexual maturity at about 3 to 5 years, males at an earlier age than females. Life Cycle Probably because there are few large predators on Madagascar, Dumeril's boas have smaller litters than other boa constrictors. As a result, baby Dumeril's boas can be much larger.