Biology:Xenopholis

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Short description: Genus of snakes

Xenopholis
Wucherer's ground snake (Xenopholis scalaris).jpg
Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Dipsadinae
Genus: Xenopholis
W. Peters, 1869

Xenopholis is a genus of rear-fanged snakes of the family Colubridae.

Geographic range

The genus Xenopholis is endemic to South America.[1]

Description

The genus Xenopholis is characterized by distinctive vertebrae. The spinous processes are expanded dorsally, forming shields which are rugose and divided by a median groove.[2]

Species

Three species are recognized as being valid.[3]

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Xenopholis.

References

  1. Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN:0-87666-912-7. (Genus Xenopholis, p. 113).
  2. Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Genus Xenopholis, p. 231, Figure 16, three views of vertebrae).
  3. Genus Xenopholis at The Reptile Database

Further reading

  • Peters W (1869). "Über neue Gattungen und neue oder weniger bekannte Arten von Amphibien ( ... Xenopholis ... ) ". Monatsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1869: 432–447. (Xenopholis, new genus, p. 440). (in German).

Wikidata ☰ Q5087356 entry