Jayakar's sand boa
The Arabian sand boa is a small nonvenomous snake native to the Arabian Peninsula and Iran where it spends the day buried in the sand. Its eyes are very small and are located on the top of the head, which has a blunt snout and is wedge-shaped. This snake's color is yellowish-grey or sandy-brown speckled with white flecks and transversely banded with dark marks.
Arabian sand boas occur in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, and southern Iran, where a small number of specimens have been found in Khuzestan Province, Bushehr Province, and Kerman Province. These snakes live in deserts and require sand or soft soil for burrowing.
Arabian sand boas are solitary creatures. They are largely nocturnal and are tolerant of a wide range of temperatures. During the day they bury themselves deep in the sand but move towards the surface at dusk. Here they remain slightly below the surface with just their eyes projecting, ready to pounce with a sideways flick of their head, on any small creature that happens to pass.
Arabian sand boas are carnivores and feed on geckos and worm lizards.
Unlike most boas, which give birth to live young, female Arabian sand boas lay a small clutch of 4-7 eggs. The incubation period lasts about 66 days after which eggs hatch at a temperature of 33 °C (91 °F).
Arabian sand boas don't face any major threats at present.
According to IUCN, the Arabian sand boa is locally common throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
