Schokari Sand Racer

Fascinating facts about the Schokari Sand Racer

• Psammophis schokari was once classified in the Colubridae, but modern DNA work moved the whole genus into the Lamprophiidae, a family that shares a closer ancestor with the venomous elapids than with true colubrids.
• The sand racer’s range stretches from the deserts of Northwest India and Afghanistan all the way to the sands of Western Sahara, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and the Kavir Desert of Iran, with its type specimen collected in Yemen.
• Psammophis aegyptius was once considered a subspecies of Psammophis schokari but is presently considered a full species.

At a glance

About the Schokari Sand Racer

The Schokari sand racer (Psammophis schokari), also called the Forskal sand snake, is a member of the Lamprophiidae family, which is more closely related to elapids than to colubrids. It is found in parts of Asia and Africa, including northwest India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, south Turkmenistan, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Syria, Kenya, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen.

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