| 1 | Egyptian sand boa |
Maximum length: 80cm.
The Eryx genus of sand boas has 12 members worldwide. All are superb burrowers, and all rely purely on ambush strategies, yet the various species have taken control of different parts of the world. The Egyptian sand boa (Eryx colubrina) is one of the most common, primarily inhabiting Egypt, but also Sudan, Kenya, and northern Tanzania.
This species is relatively thick, and like other members, its signature feature is its hunting strategy, which involves diving deep into loose sand, burying itself completely. Egyptian sand boas inhabit semi-vegetated sand dunes, rocky outcroppings, and sandy shrubland. They effortlessly glide through soft sands due to smooth scales all over their body, with only their face possessing any bumps.
Egyptian sand boas stay stationary for hours in sand dunes, yet when they pounce out at prey, they move at lightning speeds. Their speed in seizing an oblivious mouse passing by is second to none. Their diet consists of mammals and reptiles, and feeding them mice in captivity is simple and reliable, but they also eat fellow snakes occasionally. One time, a corn snake was being kept in a terrarium with an Egyptian sand boa, and soon vanished into its stomach. This species never appears in urbanised towns, but could be found in dry agricultural land near a small Egyptian village.
The Egyptian sand boa has one remaining mystery, namely whether there’s any subspecies. Those in southern areas such as Tanzania and Kenya are more orange in colour, and some theorise this to be a separate subspecies called Eryx colubrina loveridgei. However, the debate is ongoing, as some believe this to be a simple colour morph rather than a genetically separate population.
| 2 | Arabian sand boa |
Maximum length: 40cm.
A similar species, but found in the barren deserts of Saudi Arabia and Oman instead. Arabian sand boas (Eryx jayakari) appear on the driest, most scorching sand dunes, where a cobra would soon wither and die.
To acquire prey, Arabian sand boas bury themselves in shallow layers of sand and lurk a few inches below, with just their eyes poking out. Their goal is to hide their serpent bulk, yet still scan the horizon for approaching mice. When their prey finally arrives, which includes species like Cheesman’s gerbils and Slevin’s sand geckos, they leap out in a shower of sand.
Arabian sand boas constantly appear in online lists of the wackiest-looking snakes. This species looks like a loveable children’s toy, not a sinister serpent that all small mammals should fear. It’s a combination of several factors, including an unusually shaped snout for burrowing, and eyes positioned unusually high on their head to allow vision while buried in sand. Their vision fields also overlap, granting them binocular vision, and then there’s their strangely shaped pupils.
Arabian sand boas average at 30cm, and their territory has no overlap with the Egyptian sand boa. This species can be tricky to locate in studies, yet scientists have developed an ingenious solution: following their slither imprints up sand dunes.
| 3 | Elegant sand boa |
Maximum length: 60cm.
One of the most mysterious and least researched Eryx sand boas. Elegant sand boas (Eryx elegans) are found in northeastern Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. They inhabit only the most remote areas, especially canyons and gorges, where they love to lurk under loose rocks and slabs, seeking shelter against the harsh elements. They’re believed to be nocturnal, yet have also been witnessed moving by day.
How they look is one fact we can be sure about. Elegant sand boas tend to be short, with a maximum of 60cm. They’re drabber in colour compared to the Arabian sand boa, with a beige or grey base of scales overlaid with slightly darker blotches. This is a moderately thick snake only.
Elegant sand boas also appear under plants in dry shrubland, and generally appear from 800 to 2400 metres above sea level. The scant evidence we have suggests that their diet is similar to most Eryx sand boas, as they’ve successfully been fed mice and voles in captivity. Their scales are slightly keeled rather than 100% smooth, hinting that they burrow less than their sand-diving cousins.
| 4 | Rough-scaled sand boa |
Maximum length: around 1 metre.
A common Indian species. While rough-scaled sand boas (Eryx conicus) are efficient sand burrowers like their kin, they have relatively flexible habitats, and are just as likely to appear in normal villages or town outskirts as in remote deserts.
Rough-scaled sand boas have patterns which mimic the deadly Russell’s viper, hoping to gain a shield via mimicry. They lurk in soft sand or soils like other members, leaping out in order to startle prey. One of their folklore nicknames is the mannutheeni, or sand-eater. This burrowing boa is confirmed to prey on birds like the ashy priana and thick-bodied reptiles like the Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis).
Instead of fully smooth, Eryx conicus has slightly keeled scales for the most part. However, these gain in sharpness as the tail approaches, so that touching the tail while they squirm can actually be painful. This difference in sharpness from head to toe is clearly discernible in images.
Rough-scaled sand boas are superb at detecting even the slightest sound vibrations. This is always a blotchy species, unlike the consistently brown John’s sand boa (Eryx johnii) which also inhabits India. These two species overlap, although Eryx conicus is more widespread overall.
Rough-scaled sand boas inhabit virtually all of India, as well as Pakistan, extending northwards beyond Islamabad. They’re also found in Nepal, Bangladesh, and the island of Sri Lanka.
| 5 | Desert sand boa |
Maximum length: 80cm.
One of the smaller sand boas, with a length of 35-55cm. Desert sand boas (Eryx miliaris) live to the northeast of the Arabian sand boa, inhabiting Iraq, Afghanistan, and the various lesser known “stans”: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. Their westernmost point lies in southern Russia, just north of Georgia, while to the east they reach the wilderness of Mongolia. This makes them the most widespread sand boa in terms of raw geographical territory covered.
Desert sand boas are fairly similar to Arabian sand boas, as the two species are closely related. They have smooth scales, hunt by diving into sand, and have eyes positioned high on their skull for superior vision while buried. However, they tend to be a slightly duller grey or beige, while Arabian sand boas are covered with fiery orange patches.
Desert sand boas feed on mammals, and are easy to keep alive in captivity with mice. However, according to this report, they face a grave obstacle, as one captive Eryx miliaris ended up severely ill after swallowing large quantities of sand.
| 6 | Whitaker’s boa |
Maximum length: at least 95cm.
A 70cm species found exclusively in India. Whitaker’s sand boa (Eryx whitakeri) has a narrower range than the rough-scaled sand boa, as it only inhabits the Western Ghats mountain range of India’s southeast. However, since this range covers nearly 1000 miles from north to south, they still have a large territory.
Whitaker’s sand boas overlap with such Western Ghats creatures as king cobras and Malabar pitvipers. Sometimes, they fall victim to other snakes, such as the neurotoxic Indian krait. They share the liking of burrowing of other Eryx sand boas, although they rarely appear in actual sandy areas.
Of the 12 Eryx members, Whitaker’s sand boa is the least likely to appear in deserts, as the Western Ghats is a relatively moist mountain range. Rocky, hilly slopes, disused agricultural land and even university campuses are places you may find Whitaker’s sand boa lurking.
Within India, Eryx whitakeri is considered to be much more docile than the rough-scaled sand boa. This species virtually always defaults to escape, and if encountered in the open, they tend to be slow and sluggish. That said, Whitaker’s sand boas can still enter an aggressive mode, where their strike speed accelerates to ferocious levels you’d have never previously believed possible. When timid, they create ball of coils in which they hide their head (and therefore brain).
| 7 | Red sand boa |
Maximum length: 110cm.
John’s sand boa (Eryx johnii) is the second most common sand boa in India after the rough-scaled version. Compared to the rough-scaled and Whitaker’s sand boas, this species is far easier to identify. Those two share a series of dark, blotchy patterns, intended to mimic vipers, but this species is generally a consistent muddy brown, or even red. If John’s sand boas do have patterns, they tend to be large bands encircling the lower body.
Narrow nostrils, tiny eyes, and a spade-shaped snout are other ways to recognise this non-venomous constrictor. Rocky foothills and dry, semi-desert plains are their favourite habitats, and their borrowing skills are equally as amazing as other Eryx members. John’s sand boas prey heavily on the usual sand boa staples: mice and rats.
This is the largest sand boa worldwide, at a maximum of 110cm, possibly 120cm. John’s sand boas also have the most superstition of any Eryx member. It’s believed that keeping them as pets brings good luck, and that consuming their meat cures AIDs.
This has fueled an illegal trade operated by gangs, and in 2012, four suspected smugglers were arrested while in possession of this species. Trading red sand boas is illegal under India’s Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. This species is also popular with traditional snake charmers on the street.
| 8 | Eryx somalicus |
Maximum length: 39cm.
Some sand boas have been researched since the 1700s, particularly the Indian members, thanks to British naturalists collecting specimens in jars and bringing them back to London. But Eryx somalicus, AKA the Somalian sand boa, is one of the more mysterious ones again. This species is found mainly in Ethiopia and Somalia in far eastern Africa.
Somalian sand boas seem relatively short, as the largest known individual so far measured 39cm in total. The few images show a dark back adorned with intermittent white bars, and circular markings lower down on its flanks, adjacent to a pale belly.
Research is scarce, but Somalian sand boas have been found at altitudes from 0 to 1150 metres. They seem more flexible in their habitats, as they’ve been found in dry scrubland, shrub steppe, open woodland, and even on beaches.
One Somalian sand boa was found in “sandy country with patches of grass and scattered large thorn trees”. This snake was found with half of its body in a hole in the ground. Somalian sand boas have the classic tapering snout of snakes which love to burrow in soft sand, and they seem relatively non-aggressive. As for their diet, one Somalian sand boa was found with a gecko in its stomach.
| 9 | Javelin boa |
Maximum length: 87cm.
The only Eryx sand boa member to inhabit western Europe, as the javelin boa has a tiny colony in Sicily. This species was supposedly named after an ancient Greek method of warfare, where soldiers would seize these snakes and hurl them into opposing armies, to inspire fear and terror.
Javelin boas (Eryx jaculus) are one of the most wide-ranging species, appearing across North Africa and the Middle East. In the west, they just reach Morocco, while in the east, they spread to extreme southern Russia and Georgia. They can be found from sea level to 2000 metres, but in Armenia, they’ve been found at 2354 metres. Javelin boas are also the most commonly found Eryx member in Israel.
Javelin boas use the usual hunting method of burying themselves, before exploding upwards in a shower of sand particles to ambush unsuspecting mammals. This species is found in dry hillsides, and semi-deserts, but not true deserts. Any relatively dry area with soft soils to bury themselves in is game for this snake.
Javelin boas are intermediate in length, measuring at least 83.8cm (found in Egypt). Another report gave a record of 87cm, but without a location being listed.
This species has a fairly short tail, at an average of 8% of total body length. Javelin boas have richly detailed patterns rather than a monolithic brown colour. One of their recognisable ID signs is a dark line connecting each eye to the corner of their mouth. According to a study from Sicily, over 70% of their diet consisted mammals, but they also eat reptiles, and occasionally insects.
| 10 | Saharan sand boa |
Maximum length: 80cm.
Nigeria’s main sand boa. The Saharan sand boa (Eryx muelleri) appears only in Africa, although despite the name, they don’t appear in true sand deserts. Their main habitats include dry savannah, and sandy transition zones with shrubby vegetation. One of their classic characteristics is a fleshy appendage on the tail, which snake enthusiasts call a “claw”. The purpose of this claw is unknown, and this is different to the Egyptian sand boa found in Kenya, which has no such claw.
Saharan sand boas are found in various sub-Saharan areas, never north of the Sahara desert. Their hotspots include northern Nigeria, Benin, southern Niger, and they reach as far west as Senegal. They’re mainly found in western areas of sub-Saharan Africa; Nigeria is the furthest east they reach.
This species has a very similar colour scheme to the Arabian sand boa. There’s fiery orange, contrasting sharply against black, with a white belly. However, the black patterns are much blotchier, rounder and larger in the Saharan sand boa, rather than scattered with many fine patterns.
Elsewhere, this species has the same spade-shaped snout, vertical pupils, and weird eyes that look like they’ve been stitched on with a sewing box. All reports suggest that this is a tame and docile species.