Description ²

INTRODUCTION

• Mildy Venomous
• Sand Racers are found across Northern Africa, Middle East, Central Asia & India.
• Very fast moving and slender snakes.

IDENTIFICATION

• Long, thin snake with smooth scales.
• Usually have creamy, light brown sandy dorsal coloration, usually with stripes along length of body.
• Patterns vary with species although most look very similar to each other.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

• Found in dry, arid parts of Northern India.
• Inhabit arid, semi-arid areas with grassland, scrub land sandy terrain.
• Hide in rat holes, rocky crevices at low heights.

DIET AND BEHAVIOR

• Mainly eat lizards, small rodents and bird chicks by chasing them..
• Diurnal snakes that are terrestrial but good climbers of thorny bushes for basking and foraging.
• Very alert and quick to escape. Some even drop their tails inorder to escape.
• Usually non-offensive and no signs of aggression. Bites can cause swelling due to mild venom.

SPECIES OF SAND RACERS

• Pakistani Ribbon Snake(Psammophis leithii) : Northern India. Light and brown stripes along back.
• Afro-Asian Sandsnake (Psammophis schokari) : Northwestern India. Light and brown stripes along back.
• Condanarus Sandsnake (Psammophis condanarus) : Northern & Central India. Very dark, broad central stripe.
• Stout Sandsnake (Psammophis longifrons) : Central western India. Light brown without stripes. Looks close to Rat snake.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Vinay Gogula, all rights reserved, uploaded by Vinay Gogula
2. (c) Vinay Gogula, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• The Reptile Database
• VertNet

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