• Source: Psammophis

Psammophis is a genus of snakes in the family Psammophiidae. The genus comprises 33 species, which are found in Africa and Asia. Psammophis are diurnal and prey on lizards and rodents which they actively hunt. All species in the genus are venomous, and the venom is considered mild and not dangerous to humans.




Etymology


The generic name Psammophis was coined by the Austrian herpetologist Leopold Fitzinger in 1826, a compound of the Hellenistic Greek ψαμμο, "sand" + Classical Greek ὄϕις, "snake", thus sand-snake.




Description


In the genus Psammophis the maxillary teeth are 10 to 13 in number, with one or two in the middle much enlarged and fang-like, preceded and followed by an interspace; the two posterior teeth are grooved. The anterior mandibular teeth are long, and the posterior teeth are small. The head is elongated and distinct from the neck, with an angular canthus rostralis. The eye is rather large, with a round pupil. The body is elongated and cylindrical with smooth dorsal scales in 15 or 17 rows at midbody, with apical pits. The ventral scales are rounded or obtusely angulate laterally, and the tail is long with the subcaudals in two rows.




Geographic range


Thirty-three species of Psammophis are known, from Africa and southern Asia. One fossil species, Psammophis odysseus, is known to have inhabited the Iberian Peninsula during the Miocene, indicating that the genus managed to successfully colonize mainland Europe in the wake of the Messinian salinity crisis, only to be extirpated from there shortly afterwards.




Behavior


Psammophis species are chiefly sand-snakes, but they are also found on low bushes.




Diet


Species in the genus Psammophis feed principally on lizards.




Reproduction


All species in the genus Psammophis are oviparous.




Species



The following 35 extant species are recognized as being valid:

Psammophis aegyptius Marx, 1958
Psammophis afroccidentalis J.-F. Trape, Böhme & Mediannikov, 2019
Psammophis angolensis (Bocage, 1872)
Psammophis ansorgii Boulenger, 1905
Psammophis biseriatus W. Peters, 1881
Psammophis brevirostris W. Peters, 1881
Psammophis condanarus (Merrem, 1820)
Psammophis crucifer (Daudin, 1803)
Psammophis elegans (Shaw, 1802)
Psammophis indochinensis M.A. Smith, 1943
Psammophis jallae Peracca, 1896
Psammophis leightoni Boulenger, 1902
Psammophis leithii Günther, 1869
Psammophis leopardinus Bocage, 1887
Psammophis lineatus (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)
Psammophis lineolatus (Brandt, 1838)
Psammophis longifrons Boulenger, 1896
Psammophis mossambicus W. Peters, 1882
Psammophis notostictus W. Peters, 1867
Psammophis orientalis Broadley, 1977
Psammophis phillipsii (Hallowell, 1844)
Psammophis praeornatus (Schlegel, 1837)
Psammophis pulcher Boulenger, 1895
Psammophis punctulatus A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854
Psammophis rukwae Broadley, 1966
Psammophis schokari (Forskål, 1775)
Psammophis sibilans (Linnaeus, 1758)
Psammophis subtaeniatus W. Peters, 1882
Psammophis sudanensis F. Werner, 1919
Psammophis tanganicus Loveridge, 1940
Psammophis trigrammus Günther, 1865
Psammophis turpanensis M.-L. Chen, J.-L. Liu, B. Cai, J. Li, N. Wu & X.-G. Guo, 2021
Psammophis zambiensis Hughes &Wade, 2002




= Fossil species

=
†Psammophis odysseus Georgalis, Szyndlar, 2022
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Psammophis.




References






Further reading



Fitzinger LI (1826). Neue Classification der Reptilien nach ihre natürlichen Verwandtschaften. Nebst einer Verwandtshafts-tafel und einem Verzeichnisse der Reptilien-Sammlung des K.K. zoologischen Museum's zu Wien. Vienna: J.G. Heubner. five unnumbered + 67 pp. + one plate. (Psammophis, new genus, p. 29). (in German and Latin).




External links


Trape, Jean-François; Crochet, Pierre-André; Broadley, Donald G.; Sourouille, Patricia; Mané, Youssouph; Burger, Marius; Böhme, Wolfgang; Saleh, Mostafa; Karan, Anna; Lanza, Benedetto; Mediannikov, Oleg (2019). "On the Psammophis sibilans group (Serpentes, Lamprophiidae, Psammophiinae) north of 12°S, with the description of a new species from West Africa" (PDF). Bonn Zoological Bulletin. 68 (1): 61–91. doi:10.20363/BZB-2019.68.1.061. ISSN 2190-7307. Retrieved 14 April 2021.

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Demansia
• Ular cambuk gurun
• Fauna Asia
• Psammophis
• Yellow-faced whipsnake
• Schokari sand racer
• Psammophis subtaeniatus
• Snakes of Australia
• Psammophis condanarus
• Psammophis phillipsii
• Psammophis brevirostris
• Psammophis elegans
• Psammophis leithii