Psammophis longifrons

Psammophis longifrons

Stout sand snake, Long sand racer

Kingdom
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Subphylum
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Genus
SPECIES
Psammophis longifrons

Psammophis longifrons, the stout sand snake or long sand racer, is a species of snake found in India. It can grow to a maximum length of 57 inches (145 centimetres).

Appearance

Greyish above in front, browner behind, the scales edged with black, particularly those of vertebral region. The top of the head is uniform greyish brown, or the scales are edged with black. Greyish or yellowish below. Total length 1230 mm, tail 375 mm. Of considerably stouter build than the other Indian member of this genus.

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Maxillary teeth 12 or 13, 2 in the middle very strongly enlarged, and preceded and followed by a distinct interval; internasal small, 1/2 or less than 1/2 the length of prefrontals; frontal long and narrow, not longer than its distance from end of snout, the anterior end suddenly not enlarged, not greatly broader there than in the middle, not in contact with the preocular; temporals 2+2, 8 supralabials 4th and 5th touching eye. V.166–175; C.79–93; A.2.

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Distribution

Geography

Continents
Countries
Biogeographical realms

In Maharashtra it is reported from Bombay presidency north of 19 degree (Thana and Damanganga districts, Bulsar, Panch Mahal), C.P(Nagpur) and Amravati. In Gujarat; Surat, Valsad, Navsari. In Madhya Pradesh it is recorded from Ujjain and Hoshangabad. These records show that this species is distributed in a very narrow range, including three western Indian states, namely Gujarat (central and south), Maharashtra (northern) and Madhya Pradesh (mainly southern west).

Biome

Mating Habits

A female collected in Gujarat laid eight capsule shaped eggs.

References

1. Psammophis longifrons Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psammophis_longifrons
2. Psammophis longifrons on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/172688/1367315

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