Psammophis
Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox
Psammophis is a genus of snakes in the family Psammophiidae. The genus comprises 33 species, which are found in Africa and Asia.[1] 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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4]
Geographic range
Thirty-three species of Psammophis are known, from Africa and southern Asia.[1] 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.[5]
Behavior
Psammophis species are chiefly sand-snakes, but they are also found on low bushes.[4]
Diet
Species in the genus Psammophis feed principally on lizards.[4]
Reproduction
All species in the genus Psammophis are oviparous.[6]
Species
The following 35 extant species are recognized as being valid:[1]
- Psammophis aegyptius Marx, 1958Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis afroccidentalis J.-F. Trape, Böhme & Mediannikov, 2019Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis angolensis (Bocage, 1872)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis ansorgii Boulenger, 1905Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis biseriatus W. Peters, 1881Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis brevirostris W. Peters, 1881Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis condanarus (Merrem, 1820)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis crucifer (Daudin, 1803)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis elegans (Shaw, 1802)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis indochinensis M.A. Smith, 1943Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis jallae Peracca, 1896Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis leightoni Boulenger, 1902Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis leithii Günther, 1869Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis leopardinus Bocage, 1887Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis lineatus (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis lineolatus (Brandt, 1838)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis longifrons Boulenger, 1896Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis mossambicus W. Peters, 1882Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis notostictus W. Peters, 1867Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis orientalis Broadley, 1977Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis phillipsii (Hallowell, 1844)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis praeornatus (Schlegel, 1837)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis pulcher Boulenger, 1895Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis punctulatus A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis rukwae Broadley, 1966Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis schokari (Forskål, 1775)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis sibilans (Linnaeus, 1758)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis subtaeniatus W. Peters, 1882Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis sudanensis F. Werner, 1919Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis tanganicus Loveridge, 1940Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis trigrammus Günther, 1865Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis turpanensis M.-L. Chen, J.-L. Liu, B. Cai, J. Li, N. Wu & X.-G. Guo, 2021Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Psammophis zambiensis Hughes &Wade, 2002Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Fossil species
- †Psammophis odysseus Georgalis, Szyndlar, 2022Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Psammophis.
References
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- ↑ a b c Genus Psammophis at The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ↑ Bates MF, Branch WR, Bauer AM, Burger M, Marais J, Alexander GJ, de Villiers MS (editors) (2014). Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Suricata 1. Pretoria: South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). 485 pp. Template:ISBN
- ↑ Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, s.v.
- ↑ a b c Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Genus Psammophis, p. 365, Figure 107).
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. Template:ISBN. (Genus Psammophis, p. 89).
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Further reading
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- 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
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