A new study reports the first confirmed record in India of the Sistan sand boa (Eryx sistanensis), a species formally described only in 2020 and previously known from Iran and Pakistan. Researchers documented three live individuals from the northern Thar Desert in Rajasthan.
The discovery effectively adds a fourth species of sand boa to India, alongside the red sand boa (Eryx johnii), rough-scaled sand boa (Eryx conicus) and Whitaker’s boa (Eryx whitakeri). The study also suggests that the species may have been present in northwestern India for decades but remained overlooked because of its close resemblance to the red sand boa.
The study found that the Sistan sand boa can be distinguished from the red sand boa by its persistent dark bands and a tail that gradually tapers towards the tip. While red sand boas lose their body bands as they mature, the Sistan sand boa retains its sooty bands throughout life. Juveniles are buff-coloured, while subadults and adults are tan to tan-brown.
According to the study’s lead author and conservation biologist Vivek Sharma, the species may face many of the same threats as the better-known red sand boa, which is heavily targeted in India’s illegal wildlife trade.
“All sand boas are traded widely,” Sharma says. Used by snake charmers, they are traded across the country and often transported far beyond their natural range. Some of the earliest observations of what is now recognised as the Sistan sand boa came from snakes found with charmers in Punjab, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh.
Sharma notes that forest departments occasionally confiscate sand boas from snake charmers and release them into the wild. While well-intentioned, such releases can create ecological problems if snakes are released far from their native range. “Animals may survive, but often struggle to adapt to unfamiliar habitats,” he says.
The study also sheds light on the species’ habitat preferences. Most records of the snake came from farmlands, scrubland and compact sandy soils close to human habitation, including courtyards, cowsheds and suburban gardens. “The species is found particularly around farmlands and human-dominated landscapes,” Sharma says. “This raises concerns about the effects of land-use change, agricultural intensification and habitat alteration on its populations.”
The species has not yet been evaluated by the IUCN and is currently listed under Schedule II of India’s Wildlife Protection Act.
Recognition of Sistan sand boa as a distinct species brings new conservation challenges. Sharma warns that it could become a target for the growing herping tourism industry, where reptiles are handled and photographed by enthusiasts, sometimes involving the movement of animals between locations. “Its docile nature, tolerance to temperature variation and low maintenance requirements may also make it attractive to the pet trade,” he says, adding: “Now that we’ve identified it as a separate species, separate conservation attention is needed.”
Banner image: A Sistan sand boa. Image by Vivek Sharma.
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