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 subfamilyErycinae of the familyBoidae. The species is native to Southern Asia. No subspecies are recognised.[4]
Description
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 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]
E. conicuspreys 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]
^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.
^ a bMcDiarmid 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).
^Mehrtens JM (1987). Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
^ a b cBoulenger 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 bDas (2002).
^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.
^Species Eryx conicus at The Reptile Database. Accessed 3 June 2019.
Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gongylophis conicus.
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).
Das I (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. 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". Reptilia9 (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 Zoology8 (2): 347-360.