Eryx muelleri
| Eryx muelleri | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Boidae |
| Genus: | Eryx |
| Species: | E. muelleri
|
| Binomial name | |
| Eryx muelleri Boulenger, 1892
| |
| Synonyms [2] | |
Eryx muelleri, known commonly as Müller's sand boa or the Saharan sand boa, is a species of snake in the subfamily Erycinae of the family Boidae.[3] [4] The species is endemic to Africa. There are two recognized subspecies. It is kept fairly regularly in the pet industry due to its docile nature and easy care.
Etymology
[edit ]The specific name, muelleri, is in honor of Swiss herpetologist Fritz Müller.[5]
Geographic range
[edit ]Eryx muelleri is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, and Togo.[2]
Habitat
[edit ]The preferred natural habitats of Eryx muelleri are savanna and desert, at elevations from sea level to 500 m (1,600 ft).[1]
Behavior
[edit ]Eryx muelleri is terrestrial, nocturnal, and fossorial.[1]
Diet
[edit ]Eryx muelleri preys predominately upon small rodents, but also eats lizards.[1]
Reproduction
[edit ]Eryx muelleri is oviparous.[2]
Subspecies
[edit ]Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominate subspecies.[2]
- Eryx muelleri muelleri Boulenger, 1892
- Eryx muelleri subniger (Angel, 1938)
Nota bene : The trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Eryx.
References
[edit ]- ^ a b c d Wilms, T.; Segniagbeto, G. (2021). "Eryx muelleri ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T13264852A13264857. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T13264852A13264857.en . Retrieved 19 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d Species Eryx muelleri at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ "Gongylophis ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved August 16, 2010.
- ^ McDiarmid, Roy W.; Campbell, Jonathan A.; Touré, T'Shaka A. (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference Vol. 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp.
- ^ Beolens, Bo, Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Gongylophis muelleri, p. 184).
Further reading
[edit ]- Angel F (1938). "Liste des reptiles du Mauritanie recueillis par la mission d'études de la biologie des Acridiens en 1936 et 1937. Description d'une sous-espèce nouvelle d' Eryx muelleri". Bulletin du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle de Paris, Series 2, 10: 485–487. (Eryx muelleri subniger, new subspecies). (in French).
- Boulenger GA (1892). "Description of a new Snake from Nubia". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Sixth Series 9: 74–76. (Gongylophis muelleri, new species).
- 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 muelleri, new combination, p. 128 + Plate V, figure 2).
- Vignoli, Leonardo; Segniagbeto, Gabriel Hoinsoudé; Eniang, Edem A.; Hema, Emmanuel; Petrozzi, Fabio; Akani, Godfrey C.; Luiselli, Luca (2015). "Aspects of natural history in a sand boa, Eryx muelleri (Erycidae) from arid savannahs in Burkina Faso, Togo, and Nigeria (West Africa)". Journal of Natural History. 50 (11/12): 749–758.
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