NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sand Boa
Eryx colubrinus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Eryx colubrinus (Kenyan Sand Boa) close up by the Reptilarium
The Reptilarium · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Eryx colubrinus, also known as the Kenyan sand boa and several other common names, is a species of snake in the subfamily Erycinae of the family Boidae. The species is native to northern and eastern Africa. Three subspecies are recognized.
Wikipedia contributors, Eryx colubrinus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:40:46.615020+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Eryx colubrinus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Sand Boa
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Boidae
- Genus
- Eryx
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyBoidae
- subfamilyErycinae
- genusEryx
- speciesEryx colubrinus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Eryx. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Central Asia Sand BoaEryx elegans (Gray, 1849) | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Javelin Sand BoaEryx jaculus (Linnaeus, 1758) | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Arabian Sand BoaEryx jayakari Boulenger, 1888 | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Brown Sand BoaEryx johnii (Russell, 1801) | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Desert Sand BoaEryx miliaris (Pallas, 1773) | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Somali Sand BoaEryx somalicus Scortecci, 1939 | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Whitaker’s sand boaEryx whitakeri Das, 1991 | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eryx borrii Lanza & Nistri, 2005 | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Common Sand BoaEryx conicus (Schneider, 1801) | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Müller’s sand boaEryx muelleri (Boulenger, 1892) | BoidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Anguis colubrina Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Eryx loveridgei Stull, 1932 Stull, 1932 | synonym |
| Eryx rufescens Ahl, 1933 Ahl, 1933 | synonym |
| Eryx thebaicus loveridgei Stull, 1932 Stull, 1932 | synonym |
| Eryx thebaicus Reuss, 1834 Reuss, 1834 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Eryx&species=colubrinus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3BG93. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.