Colubridae.html |
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| Colubrids Fossil range: Oligocene to Recent |
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 Caspian Whipsnake
Coluber (Dolichophis) caspius |
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Boodontinae |
A colubrid (from Latin coluber, snake) is a snake that is a member of the Colubridae family. It is a broad classification of snakes that includes well over half of all snake species on earth. Colubrid species are found on every continent, except Antarctica1.
A colubrid's body is almost completely covered in scales. They have highly flexible jaws, allowing them to consume large prey items, and have no remnant of a pelvic girdle1.
While most colubrids are non-venomous (or have venom that isn't known to be harmful to humans) and are normally harmless, a few groups, such as genus Boiga, can produce medically significant bites, while the boomslang and the twig snakes have caused human fatalities. The venom is a modified form of saliva, secreted by glands in the upper jaw1.
The venom-injecting fangs of colubrids are termed opisthoglyphous, meaning that the small, grooved fangs are located in the back of the upper jaw, unlike those of vipers and elapids, which are located in the front. Even non-venomous colubrids often have fangs in this position, and use them to puncture egg-shells or similar food1.
Selected species
- Queen snake
- Grass snake
- King Snake
- Milk Snake
- Corn Snake
- Bull Snake
- Fox Snake
- Rat Snake
- Garter Snake
- Hognose Snake
- Indigo snake
- Smooth Snake
- Water Snake
- Mussurana
- House snake
Classification
The Colubrids are certainly not a natural group, as many are more closely related to other groups, such as elapids, than to each other. This family has classically been a dumping ground for snakes that don't fit anywhere else. There is on-goingwhen? mitochondrial DNA research which may sort out the familial relations within this groupcitation needed.
Subfamily Boodontinae
- Bothrolycus
- Bothrophthalmus
- Buhoma (tentatively placed here)
- Chamaelycus
- Dendrolycus
- Dipsina
- Dromophis
- Duberria (tentatively placed here)
- Gonionotophis
- Grayia
- Hormonotus
- Lamprophis
- Lycodonomorphus
- Lycophidion
- Macroprotodon
- Mehelya
- Montaspis (tentatively placed here)
- Pseudaspis
- Pseudoboodon
- Pythonodipsas
- Scaphiophis
Subfamily Calamariinae
Subfamily Colubrinae - nearly 100 genera
Subfamily Dipsadinae
- Adelphicos
- Amastridium
- Atractus
- Calamodontophis (tentatively placed here)
- Carphophis (tentatively placed here)
- Chersodromus
- Coniophanes
- Contia (tentatively placed here)
- Crisantophis (tentatively placed here)
- Cryophis
- Diadophis (tentatively placed here)
- Diaphorolepsis (tentatively placed here)
- Dipsas
- Echinanthera (tentatively placed here)
- Emmochliophis (tentatively placed here)
- Enuliophis (tentatively placed here)
- Enulius (tentatively placed here)
- Eridiphas
- Geophis
- Gomesophis (tentatively placed here)
- Hydromorphus (tentatively placed here)
- Hypsiglena
- Imantodes
- Leptodeira
- Ninia
- Nothopsis (tentatively placed here)
- Pliocercus
- Pseudoleptodeira
- Pseudotomodon (tentatively placed here)
- Ptychophis (tentatively placed here)
- Rhadinaea
- Rhadinophanes (tentatively placed here)
- Sibon
- Sibynomorphus
- Synophis (tentatively placed here)
- Tachymenis (tentatively placed here)
- Taeniophallus (tentatively placed here)
- Tantalophis (tentatively placed here)
- Thamnodynastes (tentatively placed here)
- Tomodon (tentatively placed here)
- Tretanorhinus
- Trimetopon
- Tropidodipsas
- Urotheca
- Xenopholis (tentatively placed here)
Subfamily Homalopsinae - about 10 genera
Subfamily Natricinae - about 30 genera
Subfamily Pareatinae - 3 genera
Subfamily Psammophiinae
Subfamily Pseudoxenodontinae
Subfamily Pseudoxyrhophiinae - about 20 genera
Subfamily Xenodermatinae
Subfamily Xenodontinae - some 55-60 genera
- Blythia
- Cercaspis
- Cyclocorus
- Elapoidis
- Gongylosoma
- Haplocercus
- Helophis
- Myersophis
- Omoadiphas (recently discovered)citation needed
- Oreocalamus
- Poecilopholis
- Rhabdops
- Tetralepis
- Thermophis
- Trachischium
References
- ^ a b c d Bauer, Aaron M. (1998). in Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G.: Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press, 188-195. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
