Wildlifeof China
Desert Sand Boa
Pythons
Photo: Benny Trapp · CC BY 3.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Eryx miliaris
China Red List: Vulnerable (VU)
Basic stats
Diet
Mainly rodents and lizards; also small birds
Habitat
Terrestrial, mainly diurnal, nocturnal in the hottest months; deserts
Range
Southern Russia and Central Asia to Iraq and Afghanistan, Mongolia and northern China (Xinjiang through Gansu to western Inner Mongolia and Ningxia)
The dwarf sand boa or desert sand boa (Eryx miliaris), called the Tartar sand boa if treated as the same species as Eryx tataricus, is a widely distributed, largely Asian boa. In China the Reptile Database lists Xinjiang through Gansu to western Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, and its range extends from the Caucasus through Kazakhstan, Central Asia and Mongolia. (The Reptile Database; Wikipedia, general species account)
It is small, cylindrical and stout-bodied, with a very short blunt tail, an indistinct head, small dorsal eyes with vertically elliptical pupils and smooth dorsal scales. It is terrestrial and mainly diurnal, with nocturnal tendencies in the hottest months, and feeds mainly on rodents and lizards, also small birds and other small animals. Like the Indian sand boa, it rounds its body when threatened. (Wikipedia, general species account)
Quick answers
- What does the Desert Sand Boa eat?
- Mainly rodents and lizards; also small birds
- What habitat does the Desert Sand Boa live in?
- Terrestrial, mainly diurnal, nocturnal in the hottest months; deserts
- Where is the Desert Sand Boa found?
- Southern Russia and Central Asia to Iraq and Afghanistan, Mongolia and northern China (Xinjiang through Gansu to western Inner Mongolia and Ningxia)