The Boidae, commonly known as boas or boids, are a family of nonvenomous snakes primarily found in the Americas, as well as Africa, Europe, Asia, and some Pacific islands. Boas include some of the world's largest snakes, with the green anaconda of South America being the heaviest and second-longest snake known; in general, adults are medium to large in size, with females usually larger than the males. Five subfamilies, comprising 12 genera and 49 species, are currently recognized.
Boa is a genus of non-venomous boas found in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Five species are currently recognized.
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.
The Aniliidae are a monotypic family created for the monotypic genus Anilius that contains the single species Anilius scytale. Common names include the American pipe snake and false coral snake. It is found in South America. This snake possesses a vestigial pelvic girdle that is visible as a pair of cloacal spurs. It is ovoviviparous. It is non-venomous, and its diet consists mainly of amphibians and other reptiles. Two subspecies are recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.
Xenopeltis, the sunbeam snakes, are the sole genus of the monotypic family Xenopeltidae, the species of which are found in Southeast Asia. Sunbeam snakes are known for their highly iridescent scales. Two species are recognized, each one with no subspecies. Studies of DNA suggest that the xenopeltids are most closely related to the Mexican burrowing python and to the true pythons of Pythonidae.
Henophidia is a former superfamily of the suborder Serpentes (snakes) that contains boas, pythons and numerous other less-well-known snakes.
The Cylindrophiidae are a monotypic family of secretive, semifossorial, non-venomous snakes containing the genus Cylindrophis found in southeastern Asia. These are burrowing snakes and most have a banded pattern on the belly. Currently, 13 species are recognized, all with no subspecies. Common names include Asian pipe snakes or Asian cylinder snakes.
Pantherophis is a genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes endemic to central and eastern regions of North America. It consists of the North American ratsnakes, the foxsnakes, and the cornsnakes. The genus, which contains 10 recognized species, first appeared in the fossil record in the Middle Miocene around 16.3 million years ago. They are a large terrestrial snake genus that lack subocular scales. Originally classified in the genus Elaphe, phylogenetic studies have found this taxon to be closely related to Pituophis. As with all snakes Pantherophis is an obligate faunivore with a diet that consists of small mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and even insects. While many species conservation status is categorized as "least concern", many local populations in some species have declined where some places have them listed as federally protected. The corn snake is a popular pet reptile, due to the availability of captive-bred animals, their low maintenance and calm disposition, and the variety of color morphs. There are other species of Pantherophis that are in the pet trade, though are not as popular as the corn snake.
The Alethinophidia are an infraorder of snakes that includes all snakes other than blind snakes and thread snakes. Snakes have long been grouped into families within Alethinophidia based on their morphology, especially that of their teeth. More modern phylogenetic hypotheses using genetic data support the recognition of 19 extant families, although the taxonomy of alethinophidian snakes has long been debated, and ultimately the decision whether to assign a particular clade to a particular Linnaean rank is arbitrary.
The Lamprophiidae are a family of snakes found throughout much of Africa, including the Seychelles. There are 89 species as of July 2022.
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.
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.
Malayopython is a genus of constricting snakes in the family Pythonidae. The genus is native to India and Southeast Asia. It contains two species, both of which were previously classified within the genus Python. However, multiple studies recovered these species as distinct. Known as the "reticulatus clade", it was eventually found to be a sister lineage to a lineage giving rise to the Indo-Australian pythons rather than the genus Python.
Lamprophiinae is a subfamily of lamprophiid snakes, a large group of mostly African snakes, most of which were formerly classified as colubrids but which we now know are actually more closely related to elapids.
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 Uropeltoidea, also known as uropeltoid snakes, are a superfamily of snakes that contains uropeltids and Asian pipesnakes.
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.
The Elapoidea are a superfamily of snakes in the clade Colubroides, traditionally comprising the families Lamprophiidae and Elapidae. Advanced genomic sequence studies, however, have found lamprophiids to be paraphyletic in respect to elapids. In describing the subfamily Cyclocorinae, Weinell et al. (2017) suggested some or all subfamilies of Lamprophiidae should be reevaluated at full family status as a way to prevent the alternative, which is classifying them as elapids. This was followed in later studies such as Zaher et al. (2019).
