Psammophis Sibilans

''Psammophis'' is a genus of snakes in the family Psammophiidae. The genus comprises 33 species, which are found in Africa and Asia.. www.reptile-database.org. ''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. 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).

Reproduction

All species in the genus ''Psammophis'' are oviparous. 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. . (Genus ''Psammophis'', p. 89).

Species

The following 35 extant species are recognized as being valid:

*''Psammophis aegyptius''
*''Psammophis afroccidentalis''
*''Psammophis angolensis''
*''Psammophis ansorgii''
*''Psammophis biseriatus''
*'' Psammophis brevirostris''
*'' Psammophis condanarus''
*'' Psammophis crucifer''
*'' Psammophis elegans''
*'' Psammophis indochinensis''
*'' Psammophis jallae''
*'' Psammophis leightoni''
*''Psammophis leithii''
*'' Psammophis leopardinus''
*'' Psammophis lineatus''
*''Psammophis lineolatus''
*'' Psammophis longifrons''
*'' Psammophis mossambicus''
*'' Psammophis notostictus''
*'' Psammophis orientalis''
*''Psammophis phillipsii''
*''Psammophis praeornatus''
*'' Psammophis pulcher''
*'' Psammophis punctulatus''
*'' Psammophis rukwae''
*''Psammophis schokari''
*'' Psammophis sibilans''
*'' Psammophis subtaeniatus''
*''Psammophis sudanensis''
*''Psammophis tanganicus''
*'' Psammophis trigrammus''
*'' Psammophis turpanensis''
*'' Psammophis zambiensis''

Fossil species

*†''Psammophis odysseus''

''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).
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{{Authority control

Psammophis
Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger
Snake genera