Eryx elegans
| Eryx elegans | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Boidae |
| Genus: | Eryx |
| Species: | E. elegans
|
| Binomial name | |
| Eryx elegans (Gray, 1849)
| |
| Synonyms | |
Eryx elegans (Central Asian sand boa, elegant sand boa) is a boa species endemic to western Central Asia. Like all other boas, it is not venomous. No subspecies are recognized.[3]
Description
[edit]Not well-known in the wild or in captivity, this is a small species, reaching about 15 inches (38 cm) in total length (including tail). The dorsal scales are small and slightly keeled. Coloration is very drab, consisting of a light olive-brown background, with small, irregular, darker brown blotches with black edges running along the back. There are also brown blotches on the ventral surface.
Geographic range
[edit]Eryx elegans is found in southern Turkmenistan, northern Iran (the Kopet Dag mountains in the north-east and the Azerbaijan region in the north-west), and Afghanistan. The type locality given is "Afghanistan."[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Tuniyev, B.; Ananjeva, N.B.; Aghasyan, A.; Orlov, N.L.; Tuniyev, S.; Anderson, S.; Papenfuss, T.; Borkin, L.; Milto, K.; Golynsky, E.; Nuridjanov, D.; Munkhbayar, K. (2021). "Eryx elegans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T164712A1070093. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ a b 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).
- ^ "Eryx elegans". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
Further reading
[edit]- 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 I-XXVIII. (Eryx elegans, p. 128 + Plate V, Figure 1).
- 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. (Cusoria elegans, new species, p. 107).
- Günther ACLG. 1864. The Reptiles of British India. London: The Ray Society. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxvii + 452 pp. + Plates I-XXVI. (Cursoria elegans, pp. 333–334).
- Latifi, Mahmoud. 1991. Snakes of Iran. Oxford, Ohio: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 167 pp. ISBN 0-916984-22-2. (Eryx elegans, p. 96 + Plate 11, Figure 23).
External links
[edit]- Eryx elegans at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 8 July 2008.