''Stoliczkia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of snakes in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Xenodermidae Xenodermidae is a Family (biology), family of snakes native to East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. All species in the family Xenodermidae are small or moderately sized snakes, never more than but typically less than in total length (incl ...

. The genus contains two

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, both from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Etymology

The genus is named after

Ferdinand Stoliczka Ferdinand Stoliczka (Czech language, Czech written Stolička, 7 June 1838 – 19 June 1874) was a Moravian palaeontologist who worked in India on paleontology, geology and various aspects of zoology, including ornithology, malacology, and herpe ...

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

n-born zoologist who later worked for the

Geological Survey of India The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, as a Government of India organization under the Ministry of Mines, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey ...

. Many subsequent publications have used the spelling ''Stoliczkaia''. However, ''Stoliczkia'' is considered valid because it was repeated twice in Jerdon's original publication, rendering a spelling error unlikely. Moreover, '' Stoliczkaia'' Neumayr 1875 is an

ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

genus.

Species

There are two species: *'' Stoliczkia khasiensis'' – Khasi earth snake, Khase red snake *'' Stoliczkia vanhnuailianai'' – Lushai Hills dragon snake

Etymology

Species

References

Further reading