[ noun ]
very large boa of tropical America and West Indies
<noun.animal>

Boa constrictor \Bo"a con*strict"or\ [NL. See {Boa}, and
{Constrictor}.] (Zo["o]l.)
A large and powerful serpent of tropical America, sometimes
twenty or thirty feet long. See Illustration in Appendix.

Note: It has a succession of spots, alternately black and
yellow, extending along the back. It kills its prey by
constriction. The name is also loosely applied to other
large serpents which crush their prey, particularly to
those of the genus {Python}, found in Asia and Africa.
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