How to Identify Psammophiidae

Key Identification Features

• It has a distinctive short, downward-pointing snout and a dark stripe running through its eye.
• Malpolon insignitus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827) is characterized by typically having 19 dorsal scale rows across its mid-body.
• The front end of its muzzle is bluntly rounded, and its narrow head is only slightly distinct from the neck.
• The frontal shield is long and very narrow; the upper surface of the muzzle is concave, or features a longitudinal groove.

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