Psammophis | |
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Psammophis subtaeniatus, Limpopo, South Africa | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Psammophiidae |
Genus: | Psammophis Fitzinger, 1826 |
Species | |
33, see text. |
Psammophis is a genus of snakes in the family Psammophiidae. The genus comprises 33 species, which are found in Africa and Asia. [1] Psammophis are diurnal and prey on lizards and rodents which they actively hunt. All species in the genus are venomous, and the venom is considered mild and not dangerous to humans. [2]
The generic name Psammophis was coined by the Austrian herpetologist Leopold Fitzinger in 1826, a compound of the Hellenistic Greek ψαμμο, "sand" + Classical Greek ὄϕις, "snake", thus sand-snake. [3]
In the genus Psammophis the maxillary teeth are 10 to 13 in number, with one or two in the middle much enlarged and fang-like, preceded and followed by an interspace; the two posterior teeth are grooved. The anterior mandibular teeth are long, and the posterior teeth are small. The head is elongated and distinct from the neck, with an angular canthus rostralis. The eye is rather large, with a round pupil. The body is elongated and cylindrical with smooth dorsal scales in 15 or 17 rows at midbody, with apical pits. The ventral scales are rounded or obtusely angulate laterally, and the tail is long with the subcaudals in two rows. [4]
Thirty-three species of Psammophis are known, from Africa and southern Asia. [1] One fossil species, Psammophis odysseus , is known to have inhabited the Iberian Peninsula during the Miocene, indicating that the genus managed to successfully colonize mainland Europe in the wake of the Messinian salinity crisis, only to be extirpated from there shortly afterwards. [5]
Psammophis species are chiefly sand-snakes, but they are also found on low bushes. [4]
Species in the genus Psammophis feed principally on lizards. [4]
The following 35 extant species are recognized as being valid: [1]
Nota bene : A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Psammophis.
Pedioplanis is a genus of lizards in the family Lacertidae. All species of Pedioplanis are endemic to southern Africa.
Boiga is a large genus of rear-fanged, mildly venomous snakes, known commonly as cat-eyed snakes or simply cat snakes, in the family Colubridae. Species of the genus Boiga are native to southeast Asia, India, and Australia, but due to their extremely hardy nature and adaptability, have spread to many other suitable habitats around the world. There are 38 recognized species in the genus. According to the study done by Jiří Smíd regarding Old World cat snakes, the ancestor of the cat snake originated in Africa, from where it diversified and expanded to other countries. Despite this diversity however, the different species have very similar needs in terms of temperature and precipitation.
Dasypeltis is a genus of colubrid snakes. It is one of only two taxonomic groups of snakes known to have adapted to feed exclusively on eggs. Dasypeltis are non-venomous and found throughout the continent of Africa, primarily in forested or wooded habitats that are also home to numerous species of birds.
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.
Trachylepis is a skink genus in the subfamily Mabuyinae found mainly in Africa. Its members were formerly included in the "wastebin taxon" Mabuya, and for some time in Euprepis. As defined today, Trachylepis contains the clade of Afro-Malagasy mabuyas. The genus also contains a species from the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha, T. atlantica, and may occur in mainland South America with Trachylepis tschudii and Trachylepis maculata, both poorly known and enigmatic. The ancestors of T. atlantica are believed to have rafted across the Atlantic from Africa during the last 9 million years.
Letheobia is a genus of blind snakes in the family Typhlopidae.
Scincinae is a subfamily of lizards. The subfamily contains 33 genera, and the genera contain a combined total of 284 species, commonly called skinks. The systematics is at times controversial. The group is probably paraphyletic. It is one of three subfamilies of the family Scincidae, the other two being Acontinae and Lygosominae.
Lycophidion is a genus of nonvenomous lamprophiid snakes commonly referred to as the wolf snakes.
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.
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 C.M.R Kelly 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 Elapoidea, which includes the venomous cobras and mambas.
Oxyrhopus, the false coral snakes, is a genus of colubrid snakes that belong to the subfamily Dipsadinae. The genus is found in Central America and the northern part of South America, and it includes 15 distinct species.
The Lamprophiidae are a family of snakes found throughout much of Africa, including the Seychelles. There are 89 species as of July 2022.
Philothamnus is a genus of snakes in the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa.
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.
Afrotyphlops is a genus of snakes in the family Typhlopidae.
Myriopholis is a genus of snakes in the family Leptotyphlopidae. Most of the species were previously placed in the genus Leptotyphlops.
Psammophis odysseus is an extinct species of terrestrial snake belonging to the family Psammophiidae. It lived around 5.5 million years ago and was discovered in Salobreña, Spain by Georgios Georgalis. It is believed to have inhabited Africa and migrated to Eurasia.