| Lygophis flavifrenatus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Lygophis |
| Species: | L. flavifrenatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Lygophis flavifrenatus Cope, 1862 | |
Lygophis flavifrenatus, the fronted ground snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. [2]
The Pythonidae, commonly known as pythons, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten genera and 39 species are currently recognized. Being naturally non-venomous, pythons must constrict their prey to suffocate it prior to consumption. Pythons will typically strike at and bite their prey of choice to gain hold of it; they then must use physical strength to constrict their prey, by coiling their muscular bodies around the animal, effectively suffocating it before swallowing whole. This is in stark contrast to venomous snakes such as the rattlesnake, for example, which delivers a swift, venomous bite but releases, waiting as the prey succumbs to envenomation before being consumed. Collectively, the pythons are well-documented and -studied as constrictors, much like other non-venomous snakes, including the boas and even kingsnakes of the New World.
Snakes are elongated, limbless, 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. 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 independently evolved elongate bodies without limbs or with greatly reduced limbs at least twenty-five times via convergent evolution, leading to many lineages of legless lizards. These resemble snakes, but several common groups of legless lizards have eyelids and external ears, which snakes lack, although this rule is not universal.
Colubridae is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica.
Elapidae is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydocephalus. Many members of this family exhibit a threat display of rearing upwards while spreading out a neck flap. Elapids are endemic to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, with terrestrial forms in Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas and marine forms in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Members of the family have a wide range of sizes, from the 18 cm (7.1 in) white-lipped snake to the 5.85 m king cobra. Most species have neurotoxic venom that is channeled by their hollow fangs, and some may contain other toxic components in various proportions. The family includes 55 genera with some 360 species and over 170 subspecies.
Garter snake is a common name for generally harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus Thamnophis in the family Colubridae. Native to North and Central America, species in the genus Thamnophis can be found from the subarctic plains of Canada to Costa Rica.
The eastern brown snake, often referred to as the common brown snake, is a species of highly venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to eastern and central Australia and southern New Guinea. It was first described by André Marie Constant Duméril, Gabriel Bibron, and Auguste Duméril in 1854. The adult eastern brown snake has a slender build and can grow to 2 m (7 ft) in length. The colour of its surface ranges from pale brown to black, while its underside is pale cream-yellow, often with orange or grey splotches. The eastern brown snake is found in most habitats except dense forests, often in farmland and on the outskirts of urban areas, as such places are populated by its main prey, the house mouse. The species is oviparous. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the snake as a least-concern species, though its status in New Guinea is unclear.
Liophis is a former genus of New World colubrid snakes. They have a wide range of nondescript and local names, among these "water snakes", "mapepires", "corals" or "racers".
James Ray Dixon was professor emeritus and curator emeritus of amphibians and reptiles at the Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection at Texas A&M University. He lived in El Campo, Texas throughout most of his childhood. He published prolifically on the subject of herpetology in his distinguished career, authoring and co-authoring several books, book chapters, and numerous peer reviewed notes and articles, describing two new genera, and many new species, earning him a reputation as one of the most prominent herpetologists of his generation. His main research focus was morphology based systematics of amphibians and reptiles worldwide with emphasis on Texas, US, Mexico, Central America, and South America, although bibliographies, conservation, ecology, life history and zoogeography have all been the subjects of his extensive publications.
Ground snake can refer to three distinct genera of snakes:
Xenodontinae is a subfamily of snakes in the family Colubridae.
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.
Saphenophis is a genus of snakes in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The genus is native to northwestern South America.
Lygophis anomalus is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Lygophis dilepis, Lema's ground snake or Lema's striped snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Lygophis elegantissimus is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Argentina.
Lygophis lineatus, the lined ground snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador.
Lygophis meridionalis is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina.
Lygophis paucidens, Hoge's ground snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Brazil and Paraguay.
Lygophis vanzolinii, Vanzolini's ground snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Argentina.
