Description ²

INTRODUCTION

• Mildy Venomous
• Sand Racers are found across Northern Africa, Middle East, Central Asia & India.
• Very fast moving and slender snakes.

IDENTIFICATION

• Long, thin snake with smooth scales.
• Usually have creamy, light brown sandy dorsal coloration, usually with stripes along length of body.
• Patterns vary with species although most look very similar to each other.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

• Found in dry, arid parts of Northern India.
• Inhabit arid, semi-arid areas with grassland, scrub land sandy terrain.
• Hide in rat holes, rocky crevices at low heights.

DIET AND BEHAVIOR

• Mainly eat lizards, small rodents and bird chicks by chasing them..
• Diurnal snakes that are terrestrial but good climbers of thorny bushes for basking and foraging.
• Very alert and quick to escape. Some even drop their tails inorder to escape.
• Usually non-offensive and no signs of aggression. Bites can cause swelling due to mild venom.

SPECIES OF SAND RACERS

• Pakistani Ribbon Snake(Psammophis leithii) : Northern India. Light and brown stripes along back.
• Afro-Asian Sandsnake (Psammophis schokari) : Northwestern India. Light and brown stripes along back.
• Condanarus Sandsnake (Psammophis condanarus) : Northern & Central India. Very dark, broad central stripe.
• Stout Sandsnake (Psammophis longifrons) : Central western India. Light brown without stripes. Looks close to Rat snake.

Fontes e Créditos

1. (c) Vinay Gogula, todos os direitos reservados, uploaded by Vinay Gogula
2. (c) Vinay Gogula, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA)

Mais informações

• BioDiversity4All taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• The Reptile Database
• VertNet

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