Eryx conicus

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Eryx conicus
Russells Boa.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Boidae
Genus: Eryx
Species:
E. conicus
Binomial name
Eryx conicus
(Schneider, 1801)
Synonyms [2]
  • [Boa] Conica
    Schneider, 1801
  • Boa Viperina
    Shaw, 1802
  • Boa ornata
    Daudin, 1803
  • Erix Bengalensis
    Guérin, 1830
  • [Tortrix] eryx bengalensis
    Schlegel, 1837
  • Gongylophis conicus
    Wagler, 1842
  • Eryx conicus
    A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844
  • Eryx conicus var. laevis
    W. Peters, 1869
  • Gongylophis conicus
    Boulenger, 1890
  • Eryx conicus
    — Boulenger, 1893
  • Eryx conicus brevis
    Deraniyagala, 1951
  • Eryx conicus conicus
    Rajendran, 1967
  • Eryx conicus gansi
    Rajendran, 1971
  • Gongylophis (Gongylophis) conicus
    Tokar, 1989
  • [Eryx] conicus
    Kluge, 1993
  • E[ryx]. conicus
    Szyndlar & Schleich, 1994
  • Gongylophis [(Gongylophis)] conicus
    — Tokar, 1995
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]

Contents

Description

E. conicus Russellsboa2 sal.jpg
E. conicus

Adults of E. 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 rostral scale is twice as broad as long, slightly prominent, without an angular horizontal edge. The top of the head is covered with small obtusely keeled scales, except for the nasals and internasals which are enlarged. Interorbitals: 8 to 10. Circumorbitals: 10 to 15. The eye is separated from the labials by one or two rows of scales. Supralabial scales: 12 to 14. Dorsal scales tubercularly keeled, in 40 to 49 rows. Ventral scales: 162-186. The anal scale is single. Subcaudals: 17-24. [5]

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]

Dorsally, the color pattern consists of a broad zigzag band or a series of dark brown blotches on a yellowish or brownish grey ground color. The belly is uniform white. [5]

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 India south of about 30°N latitude, Nepal, Bangladesh and in the northern arid region of Sri Lanka. The type locality given is "India orientali ". [2]

Habitat

The preferred habitat of E. conicus is sandy tracts of central and southern India, the Punjab, Kachchh, and Sind.[ citation needed ]

Mimicry

The rough-scaled sand boa's color pattern frequently resembles that of the highly venomous Russell's viper, which some herpetologists believe is a case of Batesian mimicry. [8]

Reproduction

E. conicus is viviparous. [9]

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References

  1. Srinivasulu, C.; Vyas, R.; Bhattarai, S.; Thakur, S.; Narayanan, S.; Suraj, M.; Molur, S.; Ukuwela, K.; Wickramasinghe, L.J.M. (2021). "Eryx conicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T13264817A1362030. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T13264817A1362030.en . Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN   1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN   1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  3. Mehrtens JM (1987). Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN   0-8069-6460-X.
  4. "Eryx conicus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 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).
  6. Ditmars RL (1933). Reptiles of the World. Revised Edition. New York: The MacMillan Company. 329 pp. 89 plates.
  7. 1 2 Das (2002).
  8. Mallow, David; Ludwig, David; Nilson, Göran (2003). True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Co. p. 359. ISBN   0-89464-877-2.
  9. Species Eryx conicus at The Reptile Database . Accessed 3 June 2019.

Further reading