Rhamnophis

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Rhamnophis
Rhamnophis aethiopissa.jpg
Rhamnophis aethiopissa, illustration by G.H. Ford (1862) for Günthers original description.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Rhamnophis
Günther, 1862

Rhamnophis is a genus of arboreal venomous snakes, commonly known as dagger-tooth tree snakes or large-eyed tree snakes, in the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to equatorial sub-Saharan Africa. There are two recognized species.

Contents

Taxonomy

The status of the genus Rhamnophis has long been subject to debate, and has been treated as a synonym of Thrasops by some authors. Both genera belong to the tribe Dispholidini, and are closely related to the genera Dispholidus , Thelotornis , and Xyelodontophis .[ citation needed ]

Species

The following two species are recognized as being valid. [1]

Venom

Rhamnophis are rear-fanged colubrids; that is to say, they have venom, which they may be able to inoculate by biting. Due to very little being known about them and their venom, it is necessary to be very cautious when working with these snakes. These species have an almost identical defense mechanism as the boomslang (Dispholidus typus) and twig snakes (genus Thelotornis ) in that they will inflate their throat to make themselves look bigger. It is thought that these species are evolutionary in between the boomslang and the species of the genus Thrasops in terms of their fangs and means of envenomation.[ citation needed ]

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References

  1. Genus Rhamnophis at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading