Boidae, J.E.Gray, 1825

Aloufi, Abdulhadi, Zayer, Mohammed Al & Amr, Zuhair S., 2023, Reptiles and Amphibians along the Coastal Area of the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Ecologica Montenegrina 68, pp. 66-87 : 79

Family Boidae

Eryx jayakari Boulenger, 1888 Fig. 9A

Material examined: EZC053, Al Hassa National Park, 4.9.2023. Observed: Hejrat Al Oseferat, 3.9.2023. Al Hassa National Park, 3.9.2023. Jabal Al Araba’a area, 5.9.2023.

Remarks: Jayakar's sand boa is widely distributed across Arabia including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen ( Gasperetti, 1988; Carranza et al., 2021). It was recorded from Dhahran and Abqaiq ( Haas, 1957, 1961; Leviton & Anderson, 1967; Mandeville, 1967), Al Jubail ( Martens, 1996) and from Al Hassa ( Al-Sadoon, 2010).

The feeding behaviour of E. jayakari in Saudi Arabia was investigated by Al-Sadoon & Al-Otaibi (2014). It was found to feed on mainly on sand dwelling lizards and mammals (i.e. A. schmiditi , B. tuberculatus , S. slevinii , Gerbillus cheesmani and Gerbillus nanus ), in addition to beetles.

Figures

Figure 9. A. Eryx jayakari. B. Lytorhynchus diadema. C. Platyceps ventromaculatus. D. Malpolon moilensis. E. Psammophis schokari. F. Cerastes gasperetti.