Colubridae

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Colubridae:

The Colubridae (from Latin coluber, snake) are a family of snakes. With 304 genera and 1,938 species,[citation needed] Colubridae is the largest snake family, and includes about two-thirds of all current snake species. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid species are found on every continent except Antarctica.[1]



Description[edit]

While most colubrids are nonvenomous (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.[1][2]

Some of the colubrids are described as opisthoglyphous, meaning they have elongated, grooved teeth located in the back of the upper jaw. The opisthoglyphous dentition appears at least twice in the history of snakes.[2] These are unlike those of vipers and elapids, which are located in the front.[1][2]

Classification[edit]

The Colubridae are not a natural group, as many are more closely related to other groups, such as elapids, than to each other.[3] This family has classically been a garbage bin taxon for snakes that do not fit elsewhere.[4] It is hoped that ongoing research will sort out the relations within this group.

Subfamily Boodontinae (sometimes moved to family Lamprophiidae as subfamily Lamprophiinae)

Subfamily Calamariinae

Subfamily Colubrinae - nearly 100 genera

Subfamily Dipsadinae

Subfamily Homalopsinae - about 10 genera

Subfamily Natricinae - about 30 genera

Subfamily Pareatinae - three genera

Subfamily Psammophiinae

Subfamily Pseudoxenodontinae

Subfamily Pseudoxyrhophiinae - about 20 genera

Subfamily Xenodermatinae

Subfamily Xenodontinae - some 55-60 genera

incertae sedis

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Bauer, Aaron M. (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G., ed. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 188–195. ISBN 0-12-178560-2. 
  2. ^ a b c Bruna Azara, C. 1995. Animales venenosos. Vertebrados terrestres venenosos peligrosos para el ser humano en España. Bol. SEA, 11: 32-40
  3. ^ Lawson, R; Slowinski, J.B.; Crother, B.I.; Burbrink, F.T. (2005). "Phylogeny of the Colubroidea (Serpentes): New evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear genes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37: 581–601. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.07.016. PMID 16172004. 
  4. ^ Fry, B.G.; Vidal, N.; van der Weerd, L.; Kochva, E.; Renjifo, C. (2009). "Evolution and diversification of the Toxicofera reptile venom system". Journal of Proteomics 72: 127–136. doi:10.1016/j.jprot.2009.01.009. 
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
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Sourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Colubridae&oldid=638830146

Functional adaptation:

Concertina movement navigates tunnels: snakes
 

Some snakes move by passing one or two curves down their bodies (concertina movement) using scales to apply pressure points.

 

 
  "Snakes can also engage in what's called 'concertina' movement, in which one or two curves pass down the length of an otherwise straight animal. This works well for an animal confined within a channel just a bit larger than itself (such as a rodent's burrow). At least one snake, Bitis caudalis, the South African desert viper, can jump, getting entirely airborne and moving a distance almost equal to its length (Gans 1974)." (Vogel 2003:489)

Watch video
  Learn more about this functional adaptation.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/Author(c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute
Sourcehttp://www.asknature.org/strategy/68b6a69f583dd745d4269a14b90a5149

Statistics of barcoding coverage:

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:1936
Specimens with Sequences:1831
Specimens with Barcodes:1446
Species:482
Species With Barcodes:420
Public Records:780
Public Species:246
Public BINs:220

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorSujeevan Ratnasingham, Paul D.N. Hebert, Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)
Sourcehttp://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=1072

Barcode data:

Access Published & Released Data: Download FASTA File

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorSujeevan Ratnasingham, Paul D.N. Hebert, Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)
Sourcehttp://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=1072
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith