EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Speckled Sand Snake

Speckled Sand Snake (Psammophis punctulatus)
Family Psammophiidae (sometimes Colubridae)
Lake Baringo, Kenya, east Africa

Explanation:  What a beauty!  But it's a beauty that bites.  This is a speckled sand snake, discovered by a local fellow along Lake Baringo in the Rift Valley of southern Kenya.  

This snake belongs to the serpent family Psammophiidae (sam-oh-FEE-eh-day), which are largely African in distribution, although a few species are found in Madagascar and Eurasia.  

Snakes of this family have fangs in the back of the jaw and inject venom into their prey upon biting.  They eat mostly lizards and other snakes, and sometimes other vertebrates.  

Note the orange head with white lower jaw and large eyes with round yellow irises, characteristic coloration of this species.  

This observation is an extension of its known range.  Distribution maps show this species occurring in northern and eastern Kenya, but this individual was discovered in the west central part of the country in the Rift Valley outside its apparent known range.  
 

 
Left:  The back (dorsum) sports three black and two yellow stripes.
Right:  The underside (ventrum) is heavily spotted.

 
Speckled sand snakes indeed inhabit sandy and arid, dry savanna and semi-desert habitats.  They are active during the day and mostly terrestrial, although some may be partially arboreal.  

They have been noted to be the fastest snake in the country, and its sleek form and long tail suggest as much.  
 
  

We released this beautiful specimen unharmed after I took these photos.  

Information:
     Branch, B. 2005. Snakes other reptiles and amphibians of east Africa. Stuik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. 144 pp.
     Spawls, S., K. M. Howell, and R. C. Drewes. 2006. Reptiles and amphibians of East Africa. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford. 240 pp.