Arabian Sand Boa
Eryx jayakari
Eryx jayakari, known commonly as the Arabian sand boa or Jayakar's sand boa, is a species of snake in the Boidae family. It is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula and Iran where it spends the day buried in the sand. Both the specific name, jayakari, and one of the common names, Jayakar's sand boa, are in honor of Atmaran S. G. Jayakar (1844–1911), an Indian surgeon and naturalist.
From the article Eryx jayakari on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The Arabian sand boa is a small snake growing to a total length (including tail) of about 38 cm (15 in). The eyes are very small and are located on the top of the head, which has a blunt snout and is wedge-shaped. This snake's colour is yellowish-grey or sandy-brown speckled with white flecks and transversely banded with dark marks.
Range & habitat
The Arabian sand boa is native to the Arabian peninsula. Its geographic range includes Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and southern Iran, where a small number of specimens have been found in Khuzestan Province, Bushehr Province and Kerman Province.
Wikipedia: “Geographic range”
What it does
The Arabian sand boa is largely nocturnal and is tolerant of a wide range of temperatures. During the day it buries itself deep in the sand but moves towards the surface at dusk. Here it remains slightly below the surface with just its eyes projecting, ready to pounce with a sideways flick of its head on any small creature that happens to pass. Its prey includes short-fingered geckos (Stenodactylus spp.), the Baluch rock gecko (Bunopus tuberculatus), and worm lizards.
Wikipedia: “Behaviour”
In human culture
Both the specific name, jayakari, and one of the common names, Jayakar's sand boa, are in honor of Atmaram Sadashiv Jayakar (1844–1911), an Indian surgeon and naturalist.
Wikipedia: “Etymology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Eryx jayakari in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 32230.