Erycinae

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Superfamilia: Booidea

Familia: Boidae
Subfamilia: Erycinae
Genera: Calabaria - Charina - Eryx - Gongylophis
Name

Erycinae Bonaparte, 1831
Vernacular names
English: Sand Boas
日本語: スナボア亜科
македонски: Песочни удави

The Erycinae are a subfamily of nonvenomous snakes in the family Boidae. Species of the subfamily Erycinae are found in Europe, Asia Minor, Africa, Arabia, central and southwestern Asia, India, Sri Lanka, and western North America. Three genera comprising 15 species are currently recognized as being valid.[1]

Description

Erycinae is a subfamily of stout-bodied snakes, all of which are competent burrowers. The largest, E. johnii, rarely exceeds 120 cm (47 in) in total length (including tail). Most grow to around 60 cm (24 in) in total length. They have small eyes and hard, small scales to protect their skin from the grit of sand. A great deal of sexual dimorphism exists, with females generally becoming much larger than males.

Erycines have skeletal adaptations to burrowing. The skull is more compact than in the subfamily Boinae. Also, the vertebrae of the tail are increased in size but reduced in number.[2]
Distribution and habitat

Erycines are found in south southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, north, central, west and east Africa, Arabia, central and southwestern Asia, India, Sri Lanka, southwestern Canada, the western United States, and northwestern Mexico.[3]

Fossil erycines have been found in rock strata over 50 million years old, and were once widespread in North America. Now, only two species remain in North America, as well as the sand boas in Africa, Asia, and southeastern Europe.

The oldest known erycines are from the Eocene aged Messel Pit in Germany.[4]
Behavior

The majority of Sand boas spend much of their time basking below the surface of the sand, with only their eyes or head exposed. When potential prey approaches, they erupt out of the sand, bite, and employ constriction to subdue it. Sometimes they come out to explore and bask.
Feeding

The erycines primary diet is rodents, but they have also been known to prey on lizards and birds.
Reproduction

Otherwise far removed from their boine relatives, erycines are generally ovoviviparous, i.e., giving birth to live young. At least three species lay eggs, however: the Calabar python, Charina reinhardtii (once regarded as a python for this reason), the Arabian sand boa, Eryx jayakari, and the West African sand boa, E. muelleri.
Smuggling and poaching in India

Poaching and smuggling of sand boas is often reported in India.[5][6][7][8] Most of the smuggled snakes go to the United States.[9][better source needed] There is a misconception about their medicinal and aphrodisiacal properties, as well as the belief that keeping this snake as a pet brings wealth and prosperity.[10]
Captivity

Gongylophis colubrinus, G. conicus and E. johnii are frequently available in the exotic pet trade and are often captive bred. They breed readily, their small size making them an attractive option. They are usually not aggressive species, though they sometimes have a tendency to bite, and also spend the vast majority of their time hiding. Other species are not commonly available, but are occasionally imported.
Rough-scaled sand boa
Genera

Genus[1]	Taxon author[1]	Species[1]	Subsp.*[1]	Common name	Geographic range[3]
Charina	Gray, 1849	2	0	rosy boas, rubber boas	North America from southwestern Canada south through the western United States into northwestern Mexico
EryxT	Daudin, 1803	9	2	Old World sand boas	Southeastern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and southwestern Asia
Gongylophis	Wagler, 1830	3	0	sand boas	Africa from Mauritania and Senegal east to Egypt and south to Tanzania, also reported from the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Subcontinent from eastern Pakistan, eastern India and Bangladesh south as far as northwestern Sri Lanka

* Not including the nominate subspecies.
T Type genus.[3]
See also

List of erycine species and subspecies

References

"Erycinae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978).
McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
Smith, Krister T.; Scanferla, Agustín (2021-01-14). "A nearly complete skeleton of the oldest definitive erycine boid (Messel, Germany)". Geodiversitas. 43 (1). doi:10.5252/geodiversitas2021v43a1. ISSN 1280-9659. S2CID 231666355.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/19343-three-held-for-trafficking-rare-snake-species.html
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article1025488.ece
"Indore: Smugglers make crores with 'two-headed' snake". dailybhaskar. August 5, 2011.
"Sarpamitra, foresters bust racket selling sand boa - Times of India". The Times of India.
"Indian Sand Boa". www.kingsnake.com.

"Sand boa poachers eye big bucks". October 13, 2009 – via www.thehindu.com.

Costliest snakes in the world
Further reading

Bonaparte, Carlo Luciano (1831). Saggio di una distribuzione metodica degli animali vertebrati. Rome: Antonio Boulzaler. 144 pp. (Subfamily "Erycina [sic]", p. 67). (in Italian).
Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. ISBN 0-7167-0020-4. (Subfamily Erycinae, p. 319).