19 June 2014

Afro-Asian Sand Snake – Dhahran

This snake is an Afro-Asian Sand Snake Psammophis schokari. I originally thought this was a Rat Snake or possibly a Wadi Racer but Mansur Al Fahad kindly supplied the correct identification. It was seen in Dhahran and it was about one metre in length. This is one of the fastest snakes in Arabia and has variable coloration and patterning and an elongated head. The variable colour matches the habitat where they are found. In Arabic it is known as  Zaroq which means speedy. Thanks to Mansur for identifying the snake and supplying details of its Arabic name and translation.