Sand boas (family)

The division of living beings into systematics is a continuous subject of research. Different systematic classifications exist side by side and one after the other. The taxon treated here has become obsolete due to new research or is not part of the group systematics presented in the German-language Wikipedia.

Indian sand boa ( Eryx johnii )

The sand boas (Erycinae) have long been regarded as a species-rich subfamily within the family of the boas (Boidae) with several genera. Currently only the real sand boas (genus Eryx ) are counted among the sand boas, the subfamily is therefore now monogeneric . All other genera were either merged with the real sand boas, or separated into other subfamilies of the boas.

features

The animals usually reach a total length that is well under one meter. The diagnostic features of the sand boas are found primarily when looking at the skeleton and genital organs. They differ from the Boinae by the widely spaced praefrontalia , the only slightly or not at all forked hemipenis of the males and the forked neurapophyses of the caudal vertebrae.

Way of life

Two species of the genus of the real sand boas (genus Eryx ) lay eggs, the other species are viviparous ( ovoviviparous ), so no eggs are laid, but these are already hatched in the mother's womb. Shortly before hatching, the mother snake gives birth to the young in transparent, thin egg shells, a solid egg shell does not form.

The earth python ( Calabaria reinhardtii ), which lays eggs, is also an exception .

Systematics

The sand boas were divided into five genera with a total of 15 recognized species. Several of the genera were monotypical, so contained only one species. These were repeatedly merged by different authors and separated again by others.

The genera of the previously used Systemati were distributed almost worldwide. The real sand boas ( Eryx ) live in Africa, Asia and part of Europe while the genera Charina and Lichanura are native to North America and Calabaria is only found in West Africa. The systematics of the snakes changed again and again according to the state of the current research, in 2006 the species of the genus Gongylophis were merged with the genus Eryx . Until 2013, the Reptile Database listed the following genera and species belonging to the sand boas:

Rubber boa ( Charina bottae )

Spotted sand boa ( Eryx conicus )

Great sand boa ( Eryx tataricus )

• Real sand boas ( Eryx )
  • Eryx borrii
  • Afghan sand boa ( Eryx elegans )
  • Western sand boa ( Eryx jaculus )
  • Arabian sand boa ( Eryx jayakari )
  • Indian sand boa ( Eryx johnii )
  • Eastern sand boa or desert sand boa ( Eryx miliaris )
  • Somali sand boa ( Eryx somalicus )
  • Great sand boa or Tatar sand boa ( Eryx tataricus )
  • Withaker's sand boa ( Eryx whitakeri )
• Gongylophis
  • Egyptian sand boa ( Gongylophis colobrinus ), now Eryx colobrinus
  • Spotted sand boa ( Gongylophis conicus ), now Eryx conicus
  • Sahara sand boa ( Gongylophis muelleri ), now Eryx muelleri
• Calabaria
  • Earth python ( Calabaria reinhardtii )
• Charina
  • Rubber boa ( Charina bottae )
  • Charina umbratica
• Lichanura
  • Northern rose boa ( Lichanura orcutti )
  • Rose boa ( Lichanura trivirgata )

literature

• Boidae - giant snakes. In: Wolfgang Böhme (Hrsg.): Handbook of the reptiles and amphibians in Europe. Volume 3 / I: Schlangen (Serpentes) I. Aula-Verlag, Wiebelsheim 1993, ISBN 3-89104-003-2 , p. 32.
• Giant snakes. In: DRACO. No. 5, Volume 2, Natur und Tier-Verlag, ISSN  1439-8168 .
• Sand boas. In: REPTILIA. No. 47, Volume 9, Natur und Tier-Verlag, ISSN  1431-8997 .

Web links

Commons : Sandboas (Erycinae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Erycinae in The Reptile Database