The species was first described in 1990 in a paper by Indraneil Das in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, vol. 88. The paper is titled - A New Species of Eryx (Boidae: Serpentes: Squamata) From South-western India. For many years, specimens of this species were thought to be a hybrid between E. conicus and E. johnii before further investigation by Das. They are very similar to conicus, but differ mainly in the reddish background coloration, smooth dorsal scales, and 201 - 206 ventrals as opposed to 161 - 196 with conicus. E. whitakeri appears to be found only in arid scrub areas of southwestern India.

With regards to exportation, it is extremely difficult to export any animals out of India due to strict wildlife conservation laws, let alone a CITES Appendix listed species.

Kelly

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