Genus is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. 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.
The Lepidosauria is a subclass or superorder of reptiles, containing the orders Squamata and Rhynchocephalia. Squamata includes snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenians. Squamata contains over 9,000 species, making it by far the most species-rich and diverse order of reptiles in the present day. Rhynchocephalia was a formerly widespread and diverse group of reptiles in the Mesozoic Era. However, it is represented by only one living species: the tuatara, a superficially lizard-like reptile native to New Zealand.
Teiidae is a family of autarchoglossan lizards native to the Americas. Members of this family are generally known as whiptails or racerunners; however, tegus also belong to this family. Teiidae is sister to the Gymnopthalmidae, and both families comprise the Teiioidea. The Teiidae includes several parthenogenic species – a mode of clonal reproduction. Presently, the Teiidae consists of approximately 150 species in eighteen genera.
Calotes is a genus of lizards in the draconine clade of the family Agamidae. The genus contains 29 species. Some species are known as forest lizards, others as "bloodsuckers" due to their red heads, and yet others as garden lizards. The genus name Calotes has been derived from the Greek word Καλότης (Kalótës), meaning ‘beauty’, referring to the beautiful pattern of this genus.
Acanthophis is a genus of elapid snakes. Commonly called death adders, they are native to Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands, and are among the most venomous snakes in the world. Despite their common name, they are not adders at all and belong to the Elapidae family. The name of the genus derives from the Ancient Greek akanthos/ἄκανθος ('spine') and ophis/ὄφις ('snake'), referring to the spine on the death adder's tail.
The Homalopsidae are a family of snakes which contains about 28 genera and more than 50 species. They are commonly known as Indo-Australian water snakes, mudsnakes, or bockadams. They are also known as ular air in Indonesian. They are typically stout-bodied water snakes, and all are mildly venomous. Two monotypic genera are notable for their unusual morphology: Erpeton possesses a pair of short, fleshy appendages protruding from the front of the snout, and Bitia has uniquely enlarged palatine teeth. Cerberus species have been noted to use sidewinding to cross slick mud flats during low tide. Fordonia and Gerarda are the only snakes known to tear their prey apart before eating it, pulling soft-shelled crabs through their coils to rip them apart prior to ingestion.
A hemipenis is one of a pair of intromittent organs of male squamates. Hemipenes are usually held inverted within the body, and are everted for reproduction via erectile tissue, much like that in the human penis. They come in a variety of shapes, depending on species, with ornamentation, such as spines or hooks. The female homologue is the hemiclitoris.
Cerberus rynchops, also known as the New Guinea bockadam, South Asian bockadam, bockadam snake, or dog-faced water snake, is a mildly venomous species of a snake in the family Homalopsidae. It is native to coastal waters of South and Southeast Asia. The species was re-delimited in 2012, allocating populations east and south of the west coast of Thailand to other species.
Dieurostus is a genus of snake in the family Homalopsidae. The genus Dieurostus is monotypic, containing only the species Dieurostus dussumieri, commonly known as Dussumier's water snake, or the Kerala mud snake. The species, which is mildly venomous and rear-fanged, is endemic to Kerala, in southwestern India. It was formerly thought to be found in Bangladesh, although its distribution there is now disputed.
Gerarda prevostiana, commonly known as the cat-eyed water snake, Gerard's water snake, or the glossy marsh snake, is a species of snake in the family Homalopsidae. The species is endemic to Asia. It is the only species in the genus Gerarda.
The calamaria reed snake is a species of snake found in some parts of South Asia.
Homalopsis buccata is a species of mildly venomous snake in the Homalopsidae family found in tropical areas of Southeast Asia.
Liushusaurus is an extinct genus of lizard described by Susan E. Evans and Yuan Wang in 2010. The genus has a single species, Liushusaurus acanthocaudata, and is known from eight fossils, several of which preserve soft tissue detail. The specimens were found in the Lower Cretaceous aged Yixian Formation of Northeast China. Liushusaurus is one of eight lizards that are known and have been named from the Yixian Formation, part of the diverse Jehol Biota ecosystem.
Plagiopholis is a genus of snakes in the family Colubridae. The genus is native to Asia.
Homalopsis is a genus of snakes of the family Homalopsidae. The genus is restricted to South East Asia and includes five currently recognized species. Like all members of the family Homalopsidae, Homalopsis are rear-fanged and mildly venomous, though considered harmless to humans.
Wallaceophis is a genus of snake in the family Colubriadae. It was first described in 2016. The sole species is Wallaceophis gujaratensis which is found in the Indian state of Gujarat. Wallaceophis gujaratenisis is presently known from just seven localities of Gujarat and virtually nothing is known about its biology. Common names Wallace's striped snake and Wallace's racer has been suggested for it.
Gyiophis is a genus of snakes in the family Homalopsidae. The genus is endemic to Myanmar.
Ajaraneola is a genus of African jumping spiders that contains two species, Ajaraneola mastigophora and Ajaraneola pajakwandy. The name of the genus derives from the name of forest goddess, Aja, in one of the languages of Nigeria, Yoruba. The genus was first described in 2011 from specimens of Ajaraneola mastigophora found in Nigeria. The second species was first described in 2021 from examples found in Uganda. The spiders are medium-sized and have a characteristic whip-like embolus.
Trimeresurus salazar, also known as Salazar's pit viper, is a species of venomous, green pit viper first discovered in 2019 in the lowlands of the western part of Arunachal Pradesh, India; the fifth new reptile species to be discovered in the region in 2019. It was named after Salazar Slytherin from the Harry Potter series. It has a dark green head and yellowish green dorsal scales on the rest of its body. The species is sexually dichromatic; the males have reddish-orange and yellow-orange stripes and a rusty red-orange tail that the females lack. Its habitat is under threat from human development activities.
Lamprolina is an Australian genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) found in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.
