Hormonotus

Last updated

Hormonotus
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Lamprophiidae
Subfamily: Lamprophiinae
Genus: Hormonotus
Hallowell, 1857
Species:
H. modestus
Binomial name
Hormonotus modestus
Synonyms

Lamprophis modestusDuméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854
Boodon modestus(Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Boodon vossiiFischer, 1888
Dipsas modestus(Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Heterolepis glaberJan, 1862
Hormonotus audaxHallowell, 1857

Hormonotus is a genus of snakes. At present, this genus is monotypic, as there is only one commonly accepted species in it, Hormonotus modestus, commonly known as the Uganda house snake or yellow forest snake. It is widespread in tropical Africa. [1] Its sister taxon is Inyoka swazicus , the Swazi rock snake. [2]

A genus is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, as well as viruses, in biology. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus.

Snake limbless, scaly, elongate reptile

Snakes are elongated, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes. Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads with their highly mobile jaws. To accommodate their narrow bodies, snakes' paired organs appear one in front of the other instead of side by side, and most have only one functional lung. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of vestigial claws on either side of the cloaca. Lizards have evolved elongate bodies without limbs or with greatly reduced limbs about twenty-five times independently via convergent evolution, leading to many lineages of legless lizards. Legless lizards resemble snakes, but several common groups of legless lizards have eyelids and external ears, which snakes lack, although this rule is not universal.

In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined.

Related Research Articles

Leptotyphlopidae family of reptiles

The Leptotyphlopidae are a family of snakes found in North America, South America, Africa, & Asia. All are fossorial and adapted to burrowing, feeding on ants and termites. Two subfamilies are recognized.

Chorus frog genus of amphibians

Pseudacris is a genus of frogs in the family Hylidae found in North America ranging from the Pacific coastline to the Atlantic.

<i>Pantherophis</i> genus of reptiles

Pantherophis is a genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes endemic to North America and Central America, commonly called rat snakes, fox snakes, and corn snakes. All are powerful constrictors and help control rodent populations. Some taxonomic classification systems have accepted the proposed classification, while others have not.

<i>Lamprophis</i> genus of colubrid snakes

Lamprophis is a genus of medium-sized, nonvenomous snakes commonly referred to as African house snakes.

Natricinae subfamily of snakes

The Natricinae are a subfamily of snakes in the family Colubridae. The subfamily comprises 35 genera. Members include many very common snake species, such as the European grass snakes, and the North American water snakes and garter snakes. Some Old World members of the subfamily are known as keelbacks, because their dorsal scales exhibit strong keeling.

Gonionotophis is a genus of snakes, known commonly as African ground snakes and file snakes, in the family Lamprophiidae. The genus is endemic to Central Africa.

Colubrinae subfamily of reptiles

The Colubrinae are a subfamily of the family Colubridae of snakes. 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.

Alethinophidia infraorder of reptiles

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.

Mehelya is a genus name of colubrid snakes from Africa. Species formerly assigned to the genus Mehelya are now found in the genera Gonionotophis, Gracililima, or Limaformosa. They are collectively called file snakes due to their unusual scalation. They are not venomous.

<i>Lycodonomorphus</i> genus of reptiles

Lycodonomorphus is a genus of snakes commonly referred to as African water snakes. They are small, nonvenomous snakes, with all members being endemic to Africa, especially Tanzania.

<i>Boaedon</i> genus of reptiles

Boaedon is a genus of African lamprophiids consisting of the "brown" house snakes. The genus was originally described by Duméril but the species contained were reclassified as Lamprophis by Fitzinger in 1843, this taxonomy remained widely accepted until November 2010 when a phylogenetic study was published by Kelly, C.M.R et al. who resurrected the Boaedon clade. Although commonly regarded as belonging to the Colubridae, primary literature usually lists them, and related species, as belonging to the family Lamprophiidae within the superfamily which includes the venomous cobras and mambas, Elapoidea. In 2015, a new species was described and a further added to the genus.

Inyoka is a monotypic genus of southern African snakes. The word "inyoka" means "snake" in Zulu, Xhosa, Swahili, Shona and other African languages. These snakes were previously grouped in the genus Lamprophis but were found to be closer related to Hormonotus; a substantial genetic divergence between them and a 1900 km gap between their geographic ranges meant a new genus was erected for Lamprophis swazicus, the sole species of the new genus.

<i>Boaedon lineatus</i> species of reptile

Boaedon lineatus, the striped house snake, is a species of lamprophiid from throughout Africa. This species has a wide range stretching from Tanzania through Central Africa as far as Uganda. They are kept as pets with increasing regularity, often captured and exported for the pet trade. Until November 2010, this species was grouped in the genus Lamprophis, but a paper published by Kelly et al. reclassified this species in the genus Boaedon.

<i>Boaedon capensis</i> species of reptile

Boaedon capensis, the Cape house snake, also known as the brown house snake, is a species of lamprophiid from Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. They are a non-venomous lamprophiid. This species was previously grouped in the genus Lamprophis but is regrouped with the genus Boaedon.

Lamprophiidae family of reptiles

The Lamprophiidae are a family of snakes found mostly in Africa, but also in parts of southern Europe and western Asia. A few species reach southeastern Asia. There are 322 species as of April 2019.

Dipsadinae subfamily of reptiles

Dipsadinae is a large subfamily of colubroid snakes, sometimes referred to as a family (Dipsadidae). They are found in most of the Americas, including the West Indies, and are most diverse in South America. There are more than 700 species.

Lygophis is a genus of snakes in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to Panama and South America.

Lamprophiinae subfamily of reptiles

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.

<i>Lycodonomorphus inornatus</i> species of reptile

Lycodonomorphus inornatus, commonly known as the olive house snake, the black house snake, and the olive ground snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Lamprophiidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa. It is a nocturnal snake with terrestrial habits.

Leptotyphlopinae are a subfamily of snakes found in equatorial Africa.

References

  1. Hormonotus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 4 November 2014.
  2. Kelly, Christopher M.R.; Branch, William R.; Broadley, Donald G.; Barker, Nigel P.; Villet, Martin H. (2011). "Molecular systematics of the African snake family Lamprophiidae Fitzinger, 1843 (Serpentes: Elapoidea), with particular focus on the genera Lamprophis Fitzinger 1843 and Mehelya Csiki 1903". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 58 (3): 415–426. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.11.010. PMID   21095234.