Colubridae

Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from Latin coluber, snake) 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.

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.

Some Colubridae snakes are venomous but not all are deadly. More research needs to be done on this according to Scott Weinstein, author of "Venomous bites from Non-Venomous snakes". Some colubrids are described as opisthoglyphous, meaning they have elongated, grooved teeth located in the back of their upper jaws, often called "rear-fanged". Opisthoglyphous dentition likely evolved many times in the history of snakes and is an evolutionary precursor to the fangs of vipers and elapids, which are located in the front of the mouth.

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. This family was historically used as a "wastebasket taxon" for snakes that do not fit elsewhere. Until recently, colubrids were basically colubroids that were not elapids, viperids, or Atractaspis.

However, recent research in molecular phylogenetics has stabilized the classification of historically "colubrid" snakes and the family as currently defined is a monophyletic clade, although additional research will be necessary to sort out all the relationships within this group. As of May 2018 eight subfamilies are recognized.

Current subfamilies

Sibynophiinae – 2 genera

Natricinae – 37 genera (sometimes given as family Natricidae)

Pseudoxenodontinae – 2 genera

Dipsadinae – 98 genera (sometimes given as family Dipsadidae)

Grayiinae – 1 genus
 Grayia

Calamariinae – 7 genera

Ahaetuliinae – 5 genera

Colubrinae – 92 genera

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 either classified as parts of other families, or are no longer accepted because all the species within them have been moved to other (sub)families.

 Subfamily Aparallactinae (now a subfamily of Lamprophiidae, 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)
 Subfamily Lamprophiinae (now a subfamily of Lamprophiidae)
 Subfamily Lycodontinae (now part of Colubrinae)
 Subfamily Lycophidinae (now part of Lamprophiidae)
 Subfamily Pareatinae (now family Pareidae, sometimes incorrectly spelled Pareatidae)
 Subfamily Philothamninae (now part of Colubrinae)
 Subfamily Psammophiinae (now a subfamily of Lamprophiidae)
 Subfamily Pseudoxyrhophiinae (now a subfamily of Lamprophiidae)
 Subfamily Xenoderminae (now family Xenodermidae, sometimes incorrectly spelled Xenodermatidae)
 Subfamily Xenodontinae (which many authors put in Dipsadinae/Dipsadidae)

References

External links
 Psammophids at Life is Short but Snakes are Long

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Category:Snake families
Category:Taxa described in 1881
Category:Taxa named by Nicolaus Michael Oppel
Category:Extant Oligocene first appearances
Category:Cenozoic taxonomic families
Category:Cenozoic reptiles