{{Short description|Subfamily of snakes}} {{Automatic taxobox | oldest_fossil = Eocene | image = Eryx jaculus.jpg | image_caption = Javelin sand boa (''Eryx jaculus'') | taxon = Erycinae | authority = Bonaparte, 1831 | synonyms = *Erycina <br />{{small|Bonaparte, 1831}} *Erycidae <br />{{small|Bonaparte, 1840}} *Erycina <br />{{small|— Bonaparte, 1840}} *Erycides <br />{{small|A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844}} *Charinidae <br />{{small|Cope, 1900}} *Erycinae <br />{{small|Kuhn, 1967}} *Erycinidae <br />{{small|Kuhn, 1967}} }}
The '''Erycinae''', also known as the '''Old World sand boas''',<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS|id=563897|taxon=Erycinae|access-date=8 July 2008}}</ref> are a subfamily of nonvenomous snakes in the family Boidae. Species of the subfamily Erycinae are found in Europe, Asia Minor, Africa, Arabia, central and southwestern Asia, India, Sri Lanka, and western North America. Four genera comprising 18 species are currently recognized as being valid.<ref name="ITIS"/>
==Description== Erycinae is a subfamily of stout-bodied snakes, all of which are competent burrowers. The largest, ''E. johnii'', rarely exceeds {{convert|120|cm|in|abbr=on}} in total length (including tail). Most grow to around {{convert|60|cm|in|abbr=on}} in total length. They have small eyes and hard, small scales to protect their skin from the grit of sand. A great deal of sexual dimorphism exists, with females generally becoming much larger than males.
Erycines have skeletal adaptations to burrowing. The skull is more compact than in the subfamily Boinae. Also, the vertebrae of the tail are increased in size but reduced in number.<ref>Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978).</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== Erycines are found in Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, North, Central, West and East Africa, Arabia, Central and Southwest Asia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, southwestern Canada, the western United States, and northwestern Mexico.<ref name="McD99">McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A., Touré, T. (1999). ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference Vol. 1''. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. {{ISBN|1-893777-00-6}} (series). {{ISBN|1-893777-01-4}} (volume).</ref>
Fossil erycines have been found in rock strata over 50 million years old, and were once widespread in North America. Now, only four species remain in North America, as well as the Old World sand boas proper in Africa, Asia, and Southeastern Europe.
The oldest known erycines are from the Eocene-aged Messel Pit in Germany, named ''Rageryx schmidi''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Krister T.|last2=Scanferla|first2=Agustín|date=2021-01-14|title=A nearly complete skeleton of the oldest definitive erycine boid (Messel, Germany)|journal=Geodiversitas|volume=43|issue=1|doi=10.5252/geodiversitas2021v43a1|s2cid=231666355|issn=1280-9659|doi-access=free|hdl=11336/183369|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
==Behavior== The majority of sand boas spend much of their time basking below the surface of the sand, with only their eyes or head exposed. When potential prey approaches, they erupt out of the sand, bite, and employ constriction to subdue it.
==Feeding== The erycines' primary diet is rodents, but they have also been known to prey on lizards and birds.
==Reproduction== Otherwise far removed from their boine relatives, erycines are generally ovoviviparous, i.e., giving birth to live young. At least two species lay eggs, however: the Arabian sand boa, ''Eryx jayakari'', and the West African sand boa, ''Eryx muelleri''.
==Smuggling and poaching in India== Poaching and smuggling of sand boas is often reported in India.<ref>{{cite news |title=Three held for trafficking rare snake species Three held for trafficking rare snake species |url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/19343-three-held-for-trafficking-rare-snake-species.html |access-date=23 September 2022 |work=The Pioneer |publisher=CMYK Printech Ltd |date=10 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510164915/http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/19343-three-held-for-trafficking-rare-snake-species.html |archive-date=10 May 2012 |location=India |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article1025488.ece| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110104080320/http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article1025488.ece| archive-date = 2011-01-04| title = The Hindu : States / Tamil Nadu : Sand boa caught near Dharmapuri| website = The Hindu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://daily.bhaskar.com/news/MP-IND-heads-or-tails-smugglers-make-crores-either-way-with-city-snake-2329214.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823042235/http://daily.bhaskar.com/news/MP-IND-heads-or-tails-smugglers-make-crores-either-way-with-city-snake-2329214.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 23, 2014|title=Indore: Smugglers make crores with 'two-headed' snake|date=August 5, 2011|website=dailybhaskar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Sarpamitra-foresters-bust-racket-selling-sand-boa/articleshow/10674629.cms|title=Sarpamitra, foresters bust racket selling sand boa - Times of India|website=The Times of India|date=10 November 2011 }}</ref> Most of the smuggled snakes go to the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kingsnake.com/sandboa/johnii.html|title=Indian Sand Boa|website=www.kingsnake.com}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2019}} There is a misconception about their medicinal and aphrodisiacal properties, as well as the belief that keeping this snake as a pet brings wealth and prosperity.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/Sand-boa-poachers-eye-big-bucks/article16494514.ece|title=Sand boa poachers eye big bucks|newspaper=The Hindu|date=October 13, 2009|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref>
==Captivity== ''Eryx colubrinus'', ''E. conicus'' and ''E. johnii'' are frequently available in the exotic pet trade and are often captive-bred. They breed readily, their small size making them an attractive option. They are usually not aggressive species, though they sometimes have a tendency to bite, and also spend the vast majority of their time hiding. <!-- So some keepers may not find them as enjoyable as the more gregarious species. --> Other species are not commonly available, but are occasionally imported. thumb|Rough-scaled sand boa
==Genera== {|cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 border=1 style="border-collapse: collapse;" !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Genus<ref name="ITIS"/> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Taxon author<ref name="ITIS"/> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Species<ref name="ITIS"/> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Subsp.*<ref name="ITIS"/> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Common name !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Geographic range<ref name="McD99"/> |- |''Charina'' |Gray, 1849 |align="center"|2 |align="center"|0 |rubber boas |North America from western Canada south through the western United States into northwestern Mexico |- |''Eryx''<span style="font-size:100%;"><sup>T</sup></span> |Daudin, 1803 |align="center"|13 |align="center"|2 |Old World sand boas |Southeastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Southwest Asia |- |''Lichanura'' |Cope, 1861 |align="center"|2 |align="center"|3 |rosy boas |North America from western Canada through the southwestern United States and into northwestern Mexico |- |} * Not including the nominate subspecies.<br /> <span style="font-size:100%;"><sup>T</sup></span> Type genus.<ref name="McD99"/>
==See also== *List of erycine species and subspecies
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== *Bonaparte, Carlo Luciano (1831). ''Saggio di una distribuzione metodica degli animali vertebrati.'' Rome: Antonio Boulzaler. 144 pp. (Subfamily "Erycina [sic]", p. 67). (in Italian). *Goin, C.J.; Goin, O.B.; Zug, G.R. (1978). ''Introduction to Herpetology''. Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. {{ISBN|0-7167-0020-4}}. (Subfamily Erycinae, p. 319).
==External links== {{Commons category-inline}} *[http://www.kingsnake.com/sandboa/ The Sand Boa Page] at [http://www.kingsnake.com/ Kingsnake.com]. Accessed 16 July 2008. <!-- people believe that by keeping sand boas they got wealth by black magic and supernatural powers and senses, but there is no scientific evidence of this thought. many superstitious are related with sand boas. government should try effectively for awareness about such superstitions and related thought and believes by awareness of science to control smuggling of sand boas. sand boas are friends of farmers, as they move earth layers by movements which are beneficial for farmers. -->
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2220578}}
Category:Erycinae Category:Snake subfamilies Category:Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte