Family of snakes
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from
Latin : coluber , 'snake') is a
family of
snakes . With 249
genera ,
[2] it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the
Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected.
[1] Colubrid snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica.
[3]
Description
A primarily shy and harmless group of snakes, the vast majority of colubrids are not
venomous , nor do most colubrids produce
venom that is medically significant to
mammals . However, the bites of a few groups (such as
Boiga sp.) can escalate quickly to emergency situations. Furthermore, within the Colubridae, the South African
boomslang and
twig snakes , as well as the Asian keelback snakes (
Rhabdophis sp.) have long been notorious for inflicting the worst bites on humans, with the most confirmed fatalities.
[3]
[4]
[5]
Some colubrids are described as
opisthoglyphous (often simply called "rear-fanged"), meaning they possess shortened, grooved "fangs" located at the back of the upper jaw. It is thought that opisthoglyphy evolved many times throughout the natural history of
squamates
[4] and is an evolutionary precursor to the larger, frontal fangs of
vipers and
elapids .
[6]
[7]
[8]
[3]
[4]
Classification
In the past, the Colubridae were not a
natural group , as many were more closely related to other groups, such as
elapids , than to each other.
[9] This family was historically used as a "
wastebasket taxon "
[5] for snakes that do not fit elsewhere.
[10] Until recently, colubrids were basically
colubroids that were not
elapids ,
viperids , or
Atractaspis .
[11]
However, recent research in molecular phylogenetics has stabilized the classification of historically "colubrid" snakes and the family as currently defined is a
monophyletic
clade ,
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15] although additional research will be necessary to sort out all the relationships within this group. As of May 2018, eight subfamilies are recognized.
[16]
Current subfamilies
Sibynophiinae – three genera
Natricinae – 36 genera (sometimes given as family
Natricidae )
Two
Indian rat snakes (grey and yellow)
A
natricine ,
Thamnophis sirtalis
Pseudoxenodontinae – two genera
Dipsadinae – over 100 genera (sometimes given as family
Dipsadidae )
A
dipsadine ,
Sibon longifrenis
Grayiinae – one genus
Calamariinae – seven genera
Ahaetuliinae – five genera
Colubrinae – 93 genera
A
colubrine ,
Dolichophis jugularis , preying on a legless lizard, a
sheltopusik
Sub-family currently undetermined
Former subfamilies
These taxa have been at one time or another classified as part of the Colubridae, but are now either classified as parts of other families, or are no longer accepted because all the species within them have been moved to other (sub)families.
Fossil record
The oldest colubrid fossils are indeterminate vertebrae from
Thailand and specimens of the genus
Nebraskophis from the U.S. state of
Georgia , both from the
Late Eocene . The presence of derived colubrids in North America so early on, despite their presumed Old World origins, suggests that they originated even earlier.
[1] The Pliocene (
Blancan ) fossil record in the
Ringold Formation of Adams County, Washington has yielded fossils from a number of colubrids including
Elaphe pliocenica ,
Elaphe vulpina ,
Lampropeltis getulus ,
Pituophis catenifer , a
Thamnophis species, and the extinct genus
Tauntonophis .
[21]
References
Citations
^
a
b
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^
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^
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^
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^ Pyron, R. A.; Burbrink, F.; Wiens, J. J. (2013).
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^ Figueroa, A.; McKelvy, A. D.; Grismer, L. L.; Bell, C. D.; Lailvaux, S. P. (2016).
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^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h Pyron, R. A.; Burbrink, F. T.; Colli, G. R.; de Oca, A. N. M.; Vitt, L. J.; Kuczynski, C. A.; Wiens, J. J. (2011).
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^ Zheng, Y; Wiens, JJ (2016).
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^ Uetz, Peter.
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^
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^
a
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^
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^
a
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^ Parmley, D.; Walker, D. (2003). "Snakes of the Pliocene Taunton local fauna of Adams County, Washington with the description of a new colubrid". Journal of Herpetology . 37 (2): 235–244.
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External links