Colubrid

Colubrids Fossil range: Oligocene to Recent
Caspian Whipsnake Coluber (Dolichophis) caspius
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Sauropsida Subclass: Diapsida Infraclass: Lepidosauromorpha Superorder: Lepidosauria Order: Squamata Infraorder: Serpentes Family: Colubridae
Subfamilies
Boodontinae Calamariinae Colubrinae Dipsadinae Homalopsinae Natricinae Pareatinae Psammophiinae Pseudoxenodontinae Pseudoxyrhophiinae Xenodermatinae Xenodontinae and see text

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 Antarctica.

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 girdle.

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 jaw.

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 food.

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-going mitochondrial DNA research which may sort out the familial relations within this group^{[citation 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

• Calamaria
• Calamorhabdium
• Collorhabdium
• Etheridgeum
• Macrocalamus
• Pseudorabdion
• Rabdion

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

• Hemirhagerrhis
• Malpolon
• Mimophis
• Psammophis
• Psammophylax
• Rhamphiophis

Subfamily Pseudoxenodontinae

• Plagiopholis
• Pseudoxenodon

Subfamily Pseudoxyrhophiinae - about 20 genera

Subfamily Xenodermatinae

• Achalinus
• Fimbrios
• Oxyrhabdium
• Stoliczkaia
• Xenodermus
• Xylophis

Subfamily Xenodontinae - some 55-60 genera

incertae sedis

• Blythia
• Cercaspis
• Cyclocorus
• Elapoidis
• Gongylosoma
• Haplocercus
• Helophis
• Myersophis
• Omoadiphas (recently discovered)^{[citation needed]}
• Oreocalamus
• Poecilopholis
• Rhabdops
• Tetralepis
• Thermophis
• Trachischium

References

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Colubridae

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