Eryx miliaris

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Eryx miliaris
BennyTrapp Eryx miliaris.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Boidae
Genus: Eryx
Species:
E. miliaris/tataricus
Binomial name
Eryx miliaris/tataricus
(Pallas, 1773)
Synonyms
  • Anguis miliaris Pallas, 1773
  • Eryx miliaris — Eichwald, 1831[1]

Eryx miliaris/tataricus, known as the dwarf sand boa, desert sand boa, or Tartar sand boa, is a species of snake in the Boidae family.[1] The species is endemic to Asia.[2][3]

Description[]

The body is strong and round. The tail is very short and thick. The head is almost mixed with the body. The front part of the body is soft, while the back part is rough and raised. Like the Indian sand boa, this snake also rounds its body when threatened . It does not try to bite humans. The snake is a mixture of brown, red and black, which turns white on both sides. Its diet includes small birds, desert lizards and other small animals. The Tartar Sand Boa is one the larger members of the genus Eryx. Adult females can reach 4 feet in length. Like most other Sand Boas, adult males are considerably shorter, rarely reaching 30 inches (75 cm). According to some scientists The Tartar Sand Boa is viviparous, which means that the female gives birth to live young. The female has about 7-10 young. and some scientists believe that this species lay eggs like other oviparous snakes.

Distribution[]

E. miliaris or E. tataricus is found in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, southern Russia, and northwestern China.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. ^ "Eryx miliaris". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  3. ^ McDiarmid, Roy W., Jonathan A. Campbell, and T'Shaka A. Touré, 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. xi + 511 pp.

Further reading[]

  • Eichwald [K]E. 1831. Zoologia specialis quam expositis animalibus tum vivis, tum fossilibus potissimum rossiae in universum, et poloniae in specie, in usum lectionum publicarum in Universitate Caesarea Vilnensi habendarum. Pars posterior. Vilnius: J. Zawadzki. pp. 116–197. (Eryx miliaris, p. 176). (in Latin).
  • Pallas PS. 1773. Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des Russischen Reichs. Zwenter Theil [Volume 2]. St. Petersburg, Russia: Russian Academy of Sciences. 744 pp. (Anguis miliaris, new species, p. 718). (in German and Latin).


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