| Ahaetuliinae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ahaetulla sp. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Ahaetuliinae Figueroa, McKelvy, Grismer, Bell, and Lailvaux, 2016 |
| Genera | |
The Ahaetuliinae are a subfamily of vine snakes within the family Colubridae that was erected in 2016. They are found from South and Southeast Asia through to Australia.
The name comes from the genus Ahaetulla , which gets its name from the Sri Lankan Sinhalese language words ahaetulla/ahata gulla/as gulla, meaning “eye plucker” or “eye picker”, because of the belief that they pluck out the eyes of humans, as first reported by the Portuguese traveler João Ribeiro in 1685. [2] [3]
Ahaetuliinae was formally named and described in 2016 by Figueroa et al., using the name proposed by Pyron et al. in 2013. Previously placed within Colubrinae, Ahaetuliinae was strongly supported as the sister group to Colubrinae in a 2016 study by Figueroa et al., as shown in the cladogram below: [3]
Ahaetuliinae is split into two separate monophyletic groups: one group consists of the sharp-nosed snakes of the generas Dryophiops , Ahaetulla , and the recently named Proahaetulla , and the second group consists of the rectangular-snouted snakes of the generas Dendrelaphis and Chrysopelea . [3] [1] The most recent common ancestor (and origin) of Ahaetuliinae dates back to an estimated 33.63 million years ago, from the Oligocene epoch. The subfamily diverged into the five separate genera during this time, with the latest divergence of Proahaetulla from Ahaetulla occurring an estimated 26.55 million years ago. [1]
The phylogeny of many of the species within Ahaetuliinae can be shown in the cladogram below, with possibly paraphyletic species noted: [1]
| Ahaetuliinae |
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Ahaetuliinae are distributed from Pakistan, through India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh, throughout Southeast Asia into southeastern China, in the Philippines, the Malay Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, and northeastern Australia. [3] Most species are found in forests.
Ahaetuliine snakes are arboreal and have keeled ventral and subcaudal scales (laterally notched in some species), and enlarged posterior grooved fangs (lacking in some Dendrelaphis ). [3]
Notable traits of some species include gliding in Chrysopelea , jumping behavior in Dendrelaphis , and large eyes with horizontal pupils in Ahaetulla and Dryophiops.. [3]
Ahaetuliinae comprises five genera containing 77 species ( Ahaetulla [20 species], Chrysopelea [5 species], Dendrelaphis [49 species], Dryophiops [2 species] and Proahaetulla [1 species]) that are more closely related to one another than to members of the subfamily Colubrinae. [4]
Colubridae is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colubrid snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica.
The Caenophidia are a derived clade of alethinophidian snakes, which contains over 80% of all the extant species of snakes. The largest family is Colubridae, but it also includes at least seven other families, at least four of which were once classified as "Colubridae" before molecular phylogenetics helped us understand their relationships. It has been found to be monophyletic.
Ahaetulla nasuta, also known as Sri Lankan green vine snake and long-nosed whip snake, is a venomous, slender green tree snake endemic to Sri Lanka.
Günther's whipsnake, Burmese vine snake or river vine snake is a species of fish-eating vine snake found in Southeast Asia.
Ahaetulla prasina is an arboreal, moderately venomous species of opisthoglyphous vine snake in the family Colubridae, found in Southern and Southeast Asia. Its common names include the Asian vine snake, Boie's whip snake, Gunther's whip snake, and the Oriental whip snake.
Brown-speckled whipsnake or brown vine snake is a species of colubrid vine snake endemic to Sri Lanka.
Ahaetulla, commonly referred to as Asian vine snakes or Asian whip snakes, is a genus of colubrid snakes distributed throughout tropical Asia. They are considered by some scientists to be mildly venomous and are what is commonly termed as 'rear-fanged' or more appropriately, opisthoglyphous, meaning their enlarged teeth or fangs, intended to aid in venom delivery, are located in the back of the upper jaw, instead of in the front as they are in vipers or cobras. As colubrids, Ahaetulla do not possess a true venom gland or a sophisticated venom delivery system. The Duvernoy's gland of this genus, homologous to the venom gland of true venomous snakes, produces a secretion which, though not well studied, is considered not to be medically significant to humans.
The Colubrinae are a subfamily of snakes within the family Colubridae. It includes numerous genera, and although taxonomic sources often disagree on the exact number, the Reptile Database lists 717 species in 92 genera as of September 2019. It is the second largest subfamily of colubrids, after Dipsadinae. Many of the most commonly known snakes are members of this subfamily, including rat snakes, king snakes, milk snakes, vine snakes, and indigo snakes.
The rough-scaled snake is a highly venomous Australian elapid. The animal's name comes from its scales that are raised above the surrounding scales and have rough texture. The scales are known as "keels".
Colubroidea is a superfamily of snakes in the clade Colubroides that includes Colubridae, with some studies splitting Colubridae into multiple families that make up Colubroidea. Historically, Colubroidea also included other caenophidian snakes such as cobras and vipers, as these snakes form a clade. However these groups are now divided into several distinct, but related, families. Zaher et al. (2009) proposed to redefine Colubroidea for colubrids and related families, while designating Colubroides as the group containing vipers and cobras as well as colubroids. The ReptileDatabase considers Colubroidea to be composed of Colubridae and the members of its sister group, Elapoidea, and does not recognize the division of Colubridae into multiple families.
Ahaetulla mycterizans, the Malayan green whipsnake or Malayan vine snake, is a slender arboreal colubrid vine snake found in Southeast Asia.
Dipsadinae is a large subfamily of colubroid snakes, sometimes referred to as a family (Dipsadidae). Species of the subfamily Dipsadinae are found in most of the Americas, including the West Indies, and are most diverse in South America. There are more than 700 member species.
Pseudoxenodontinae is a small subfamily of colubroid snakes, sometimes referred to as a family (Pseudoxenodontidae). They are found in southern and southeastern Asia, from northeast India to southern China and south into Indonesia as far east as Wallace's Line. There are 10 species in 2 genera. Most are very poorly known, such that Pseudoxenodontinae is one of the most poorly known groups of snakes.
The speckle-headed whipsnake is a species of colubrid vine snake found in Southeast Asia.
Lampropeltini is a tribe of colubrid snake endemic to New World. These include the kingsnakes, milk snake, corn snake, gopher snakes, pine snakes, and bullsnakes. At least 51 species have been recognized and the group have been heavily studied for biogeography, morphology, ecology, and phylogenetics. The internal relationships among the genera has been disputed, but generally the most supported placement of the genera are as follows:
The variable colored vine snake is a species of opisthoglyphous colubrid vine snake found in Bangladesh and India. It is the first reported sexually dichromatic snake from the Indian Subcontinent, and until 2017 was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the green vine snake, Ahaetulla nasuta.
The Colubroides are a clade in the suborder Serpentes (snakes). It contains over 85% of all the extant species of snakes. The largest family is Colubridae, but it also includes at least six other families, at least four of which were once classified as "Colubridae" before molecular phylogenetics helped in understanding their relationships. It has been found to be monophyletic.
Afrophidia is a clade of alethinophidian snakes comprising the groups Henophidia and Caenophidia, essentially making up the snakes people commonly associate with. The name refers to the deep split between Afrophidia and their sister taxon, Amerophidia, which originated in South American origin, and the afrophidians was recently hypothesized to represent a vicariant event of the breakup of Gondwanan South America and Africa.
Proahaetulla is a monotypic genus of vine snake in the family Colubridae. It contains only one species, the keeled vine snake, which is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Its natural habitat is montane rainforests of southern Western Ghats.