Eryx conicus
Eryx conicus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Boidae |
Genus: | Eryx |
Species: | E. conicus
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Binomial name | |
Eryx conicus (Schneider, 1801)
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Synonyms[2] | |
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- Common names: Russell's sand boa, rough-tailed sand boa,[3] Common sand boa.
Eryx conicus, also known as Russell's sand boa, the Common sand boa or the rough-tailed sand boa, is a species of non-venomous snake in the subfamily Erycinae of the family Boidae. The species is native to Southern Asia. No subspecies are recognised.[4]
Description
Adults of G. conicus may attain a total length of 3 feet 3 inches (99 cm), which includes a tail 3 inches (76 mm) long.
The anterior maxillary and mandibular teeth are longer than the posterior. The head is covered with small scales. The eye is small with a vertical pupil. The dorsal scales are small and keeled. The tail is pointed, not or but very slightly prehensile.[5]
The
The anterior dorsal scales are only feebly keeled, but these keels increase in size posteriorly to the point that they become so heavily keeled that it can make a squirming specimen really painful to handle. This also makes it look as if the front and rear ends belong to markedly different animals.[6]
In India it can be mistaken at first glance for either the Indian python (Python molurus) or the deadly Russell's viper (Daboia russelii).
Behavior
E. conicus is active at dusk and at night.[7]
Diet
E. conicus preys upon birds and small mammals, which it kills by constricting.[7]
Geographic range
E. conicus is found in
Habitat
The preferred
Mimicry
The rough-scaled sand boa's color pattern frequently resembles that of the highly venomous
Reproduction
E. conicus is viviparous.[9]
References
- . Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ ISBN 1-893777-01-4(volume).
- ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
- ^ "Eryx conicus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
- ^ a b c Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Boidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates-XXVIII. (Eryx conicus, pp. 122-124).
- ^ Ditmars RL (1933). Reptiles of the World. Revised Edition. New York: The MacMillan Company. 329 pp. 89 plates.
- ^ a b Das (2002).
- ISBN 0-89464-877-2.
- ^ Species Eryx conicus at The Reptile Database. Accessed 3 June 2019.
Further reading
- Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Gongylophis conicus, p. 247, Figure 75).
- ISBN 0-88359-056-5. (Eryx conicus, p. 13).
- Gray JE (1849). Catalogue of the Specimens of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer). xv + 125 pp. (Gongylophis conica [sic], p. 108).
- Günther ACLG (1864). The Reptiles of British India. London: The Ray Society. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxvii + 452 pp. + Plates I-XXVI. (Gongylophis conicus, p. 333).
- Jones C (2004). "Sandboas". Reptilia 9 (3): 20-30.
- Schneider JG (1801). Historiae Amphibiorum naturalis et literariae Fasciculus Secundus continens Crocodilos, Scincos, Chamaesauras, Boas, Pseudoboas, Elapes, Angues, Amphisbaenas et Caecilias. Jena: F. Frommann. vi + 374 pp. + Plates I-II. (Boa conica, new species, p. 268). (in Latin).
- Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Eryx conicus, pp. 112–113).
- Tokar AA (1995). "Taxonomic revision of the genus Gongylophis Wagler 1830: G. conicus (Schneider 1801) and G. muelleri Boulenger 1892 (Serpentes Boidae)". Tropical Zoology 8 (2): 347-360.
- ISBN 978-81-901873-0-5.