Eryx jaculus

Eskandarzadeh, Naeimeh, Darvish, Jamshid, Rastegar-Pouyani, Eskandar & Ghassemzadeh, Fereshteh, 2013, Reevaluation of the taxonomic status of sand boas of the genus Eryx (Daudin, 1803) (Serpentes: Boidae) in northeastern Iran, Turkish Journal of Zoology 37 (2), pp. 348-356 : 355

4.1. E. jaculus

The characters based on the studied samples of Khorasan provinces are as follows. The second supralabial scale is higher than the third. Two scales posterior to internasal. Width of interocular space is more than 1.2 times greater than distance between posterior edge of eye and corner of mouth; eyes directed sideways. Three scales between eye and nasal area. The ventral surface is cream-colored with black spots more or less interconnected; in some cases they are seen as linear lines. The undersurface of the head has scattered spots. Some spots are seen on the lateral surfaces. Dorsal surface is an olive or brown color, with scattered black or brown spots that connect as transverse and diagonal lines in most samples ( Figure 5 ).

4.2. E. miliaris

The characters based on the studied samples of the Khorasan provinces are as follows. The second supralabial scale is lower than the third. Three or 4 scales are located posterior to internasal. Width of interocular space is equal to or smaller than distance between posterior edge of eye and corner of mouth; eyes directed sideways and somewhat upward. Three or 4 scales are present between eyes and nasal area. In most cases, the ventral surface of body is a light cream color with a thick black line that extends along the body closely with the head with orange color. Ventral surface is covered with some black spots without orange in some specimens. The undersurface of the head has a few black spots in comparison with E. jaculus . On the undersurface of the neck, orange spots with a black middle line are visible. Dense black spots are seen on the lateral surfaces. The dorsal surface is a mixture of 2 colors, dark brown and cream; in most cases, an orange color is seen in the cream areas. Edge of the brown area is surrounded by a black strip. In some cases, the orange color is not seen ( Figure 6 ). 4.3. Eryx cf. miliaris

We examined only 2 samples. One is from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad with unclear locality, and the other, which was collected from Neyshabour, is from Hakim Sabzevari University. Similar to E. miliaris , the second supralabial scale is lower than the third, and width of interocular space is smaller than the distance between posterior edge of eye and corner of mouth. Four scales present between eye and nasal area. Two scales located posterior to internasal. The color and pattern are similar to those of E. miliaris .

The characters of this new population are generally similar to E miliaris ; a more comprehensive study is needed to clarify its real taxonomic position and phylogenetic relationship using morphology, ecology, and molecular traits.

Figures

Figure 5. The general view of E. jaculus: a) dorsal and b) ventral view.

Figure 6. The general view of E. miliaris: a) dorsal and b) ventral view.