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Eryx elegans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eryx elegans
Scientific classification Edit this 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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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).
  3. ^ "Eryx elegans". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 8 July 2008.

Further reading

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  • 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).
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