Eryx whitakeri

Eryx whitakeri
Juvenile in Pilerne, Goa, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Boidae
Subfamily: Erycinae
Genus: Eryx
Species: E. whitakeri
Binomial name
Eryx whitakeri
Das, 1991
Synonyms
  • Eryx whitakeri Das, 1991
  • Gongylophis whitakeri
    — Tokar, 1995
  • Eryx whitakeri
    — McDiarmid, Campbell & Touré, 1999[1]
Common names: Whitaker's sandboa, Whitaker's boa.

Eryx whitakeri is a nonvenomous boa species endemic to coastal southern India. No subspecies are currently recognized.[2]

Etymology

The specific name, whitakeri, as well as both of the above common names, are in honor of American-born, Indian herpetologist Romulus Whitaker.[3]

Geographic range

Juvenile in Pilerne, Goa (top view)
Adult Whitaker's Boa in Pilerne, Goa

E. whitakeri is found in southwestern coastal India in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, and southern Maharashtra.[1]

The type locality given is "Mangalore, Karnataka State, India".[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 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).
  2. ↑ "Eryx whitakeri". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
  3. ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Eryx whitakeri, p. 284).

Further reading

  • Das I. 1991. A new species of Eryx (Boidae: Serpentes: Squamata) from south-western India. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 88 (1): 92-97.
  • Das I. 2002. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-056-5. (Eryx whitakeri, p. 14).
  • Jones C. 2004. Sandboas. Reptilia 9 (3): 20-30.

External links