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Colubridae Temporal range: Oligocene to Recent
Caspian whipsnake, Coluber caspius
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Superfamily:	Colubroidea
Family:	Colubridae Oppel, 1811

The Colubridae (from Latin coluber, snake) are a family of snakes. With 524 genera and 1,910 species as of May 2018^[1], it is the largest snake family, and includes just over 51% of all known living snake species. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica.^[2]

Description

While most colubrids are not venomous (or have venom that is not known to be harmful to humans) and are mostly harmless, a few groups, such as genus Boiga, can produce medically significant bites, while the boomslang, the twig snakes, and the Asian genus Rhabdophis have caused human fatalities.^[2][3][4]

Some colubrids are described as opisthoglyphous, meaning they have elongated, grooved teeth located in the back of their upper jaws. Opisthoglyphous dentition likely evolved many times in the history of snakes,^[3] and is an evolutionary precursor to the fangs of vipers and elapids, which are located in the front of the mouth.^{[5][6][7][2][3]}

Classification

In the past, the Colubridae were not a natural group, as many were more closely related to other groups, such as elapids, than to each other.^[8] This family was historically used as a "garbage bin taxon"^[9] for snakes that do not fit elsewhere.^[10] Until recently, colubrids were basically colubroids that were not elapids, viperids, or Atractaspis.^[11]

However, recent research in molecular phylogenetics has stabilized the classification of historically "colubrid" snakes and the family as currently definied is a monophyletic clade^{[12][13][14][15]}, although additional research will be necessary to sort out all the relationships within this group. As of May 2018 eight subfamilies are recognized.^[1]

Current subfamilies

Sibynophiinae – 11 species in two genera

Natricinae – 236 species in 38 genera (sometimes given as family Natricidae)

A natricine, Thamnophis sirtalis

Pseudoxenodontinae – 10 species in two genera

Dipsadinae – 782 species in 97 genera (sometimes given as family Dipsadidae)

A dipsadine, Sibon longifrenis

Grayiinae – 4 species in one genus

• Grayia

Calamariinae – 89 species in seven genera

Ahaetuliinae – 61 species in four genera

Colubrinae – 699 species in 98 genera

A colubrine, Dolichophis jugularis, preying on a legless lizard, a sheltopusik

genera incertae sedis (not currently placed in a subfamily, usually because of the absence of genetic data, but suspected to be colubrids based on morphology)

Former subfamilies

These taxa have been at one time or another classified as part of the Colubridae, but are now classified as parts of other families, or no longer exist because all the species within them have been moved to other (sub)families.

• 
  Subfamily Aparallactinae (now a subfamily of Lamprophiidae^[14], sometimes combined with Atractaspidinae)

• 
  Subfamily Boiginae (now part of Colubrinae)

• 
  Subfamily Boodontinae (some of which now treated as subfamily Grayiinae of the new Colubridae, others moved to family Lamprophiidae as subfamilies Lamprophiinae and Pseudaspidinae)

• 
  Subfamily Dispholidinae (now part of Colubrinae)

• 
  Subfamily Homalopsinae (now family Homalopsidae^[14])

• 
  Subfamily Lamprophiinae (now a subfamily of Lamprophiidae^[14])

• 
  Subfamily Lycodontinae (now part of Colubrinae)

• 
  Subfamily Lycophidinae (now part of Lamprophiidae)

• 
  Subfamily Pareatinae (now family Pareidae^[14], sometimes incorrectly spelled Pareatidae^[16])

• 
  Subfamily Philothamninae (now part of Colubrinae)

• 
  Subfamily Psammophiinae (now a subfamily of Lamprophiidae^[14])

• 
  Subfamily Pseudoxyrhophiinae (now a subfamily of Lamprophiidae^[14])

• 
  Subfamily Xenoderminae (now family Xenodermidae^[14], sometimes incorrectly spelled Xenodermatidae^[16])

• 
  Subfamily Xenodontinae (which many authors put in Dipsadinae/Dipsadidae)

References

External links

Data related to Colubridae at Wikispecies

• 
  Colubridae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 23 January 2009.


• Psammophids at Life is Short but Snakes are Long

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Colubridae (category)