Colubrid
| Colubrids
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 Caspian whipsnake
Coluber (Dolichophis) caspius | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Boodontinae |
A colubrid is any of the numerous, diverse, largely nonvenomous snakes that comprise the reptile family Colubridae, characterized by highly flexible jaws, a body almost completely covered in scales, generally relatively wide ventral scales and a standard complement of enlarged scales on the head (most with nine scales on the top of the head), the lack of any vestiges of the hind limbs and the coronoid bones of the lower jaws, and commonly the presence of Duvernoy's glands on either side of the head behind the eye. about 1700 species in 300 genera in Colubridae. Among well-known colubrids are king snakes, watersnakes, gartersnakes, racers, ratsnakes, ring-necked snakes, and the venomous boomslangs.
However, Colubridae is a very broad assemblage of snakes that includes about seventy percent of all snake species on earth and classically has been a place for those snakes that do not fit anywhere else. For such reasons, generalizations are difficult to apply. Colubrids include members that are aquatic, terrestrial, fossorial (living underground), and arboreal (spending large amounts of time in trees or bushes). Colubrid species are found wild worldwide with the exception of Antarctica, central and western Australia, and high latitudes of North America and Eurasia.
Description
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 (Bauer 1998).
Colubrid species are found on every continent, except Antarctica (Bauer 1998).
(from Latin coluber, snake)
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[1].
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[1].
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
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
[1].
Savitzky, A. H. 2004. Colubrids (Colubridae). In
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- ↑ 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.
