The Lamprophiidae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of snakes found throughout much of Africa, including the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

. There are 89 species as of July 2022.

Biology

Lamprophiids are a very diverse group of snakes. Many are terrestrial but some are fossorial (e.g. '' Amblyodipsas'') or semi-aquatic (e.g. '' Lycodonomorphus''). Some are fast-moving (e.g. '' Psammophis'') whereas others are slow (e.g. '' Duberria''). They are found in deserts, grasslands, tropical forests and mountains. Together they feed on mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. Some species use constriction to subdue their prey (e.g. '' Boaedon''). When other snake families were formerly included within the Lamprophiidae, they were considered even more diverse in biology, although this is now known to not be the case. Most species are oviparous.

Classification

Most lamprophiids were historically considered to be members of the subfamily Lamprophiinae in the family Colubridae. The following classification follows Pyron et al., 2010,Pyron RA, Burbrink FT, Colli GR, Montes de Oca AN, Vitt LJ, Kuczynski CA, Wiens JJ. 2010. The phylogeny of advanced snakes (Colubroidea), with discovery of a new subfamily and comparison of support methods for likelihood trees. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 58: 329–342.
whose finding that lamprophiids are more closely related to

elapids Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids ; grc, ἔλλοψ ''éllops'' "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydocep ...

has been repeated by several other studies. Together these two groups are sometimes referred to as the Elapoidea. In fact, some studies have found that

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids ; grc, ἔλλοψ ''éllops'' "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydoce ...

is nested within Lamprophiidae, a finding that necessitated taxonomic changes to restore

monophyly In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

within the Elapoidea. Following this, multiple subfamilies within Lamprophiidae were reclassified as their own families, reducing the number of species, overall distribution, and diversity in form of Lamprophiidae as previously defined; prior to this revision, members of Lamprophiidae were thought to be even more diverse in form and behavior, and were thought to have a distribution from Africa to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, southern Europe, and most of Asia. They are now known to be found in only Africa.

List of subfamilies and genera

* Lamprophiidae ** '' Alopecion'' Duméril, 1853 - spotted house snake ** '' Boaedon'' A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854 ** '' Bofa'' Tiutenko, Koch, Pabijan, & Zinenko, 2022- Ethiopian house snake ** '' Bothrolycus'' Günther, 1874 ** '' Bothrophthalmus'' W. Peters, 1863 ** '' Chamaelycus'' Boulenger, 1919 ** ''

Dendrolycus The Cameroon rainforest snake (''Dendrolycus elapoides'') is a species of snake. It is monotypical of the genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as ...

'' Laurent, 1956 ** '' Gonionotophis'' Boulenger, 1893 ** '' Gracililima'' Broadley, Tolley, Conradie, Wishart, Trape, Burger, Kusamba, Zassi-Boulou & Greenbaum, 2018 ** '' Hormonotus'' Hallowell, 1857 ** '' Inyoka''

Kelly Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * Kelly (Kelly Price album) * Kelly (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap * "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland * ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...

Branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...

, Broadley, Barker & Villet, 2011 ** '' Lamprophis'' Fitzinger, 1843 ** '' Limaformosa'' Broadley, Tolley, Conradie, Wishart, Trape, Burger, Kusamba, Zassi-Boulou, & Greenbaum, 2018 ** '' Lycodonomorphus'' Fitzinger, 1843 ** '' Lycophidion'' Fitzinger, 1843 ** '' Mehelya'' Csíki, 1903 ** '' Montaspis'' Bourquin, 1991 ** '' Pseudoboodon'' Peracca, 1897

Former subfamilies

These taxa were formerly classified in the Lamprophiidae, but are now either classified as families of their own or subfamilies in other taxa. * Subfamily Atractaspidinae (now Atractaspididae) * Subfamily Cyclocorinae (now Cyclocoridae) * Subfamily Prosymninae (now Prosymnidae) * Subfamily Psammophiinae (now

Psammophiidae Psammophiidae is a family of elapoid snakes. They were formerly placed as a subfamily of the Lamprophiidae, but have been more recently identified as a distinct family. Genera It contains 8 genera: * '' Dipsina'' Jan, 1862 * ''Hemirhagerrhis'' ...

) * Subfamily Pseudaspidinae (now Pseudaspididae) * Subfamily Pseudoxyrhophiinae (now Pseudoxyrhophiidae) * Genus '' Buhoma'' (now ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...

'' within Elapoidea)

In captivity

Some members of the Lamprophiidae, such as the African house snake (genus '' Boaedon'') are kept and bred as pets by herpetoculturists worldwide. Due to their placid nature, classification as nonvenomous snakes, easy care requirements and small size, many of the species that are bred in captivity are considered by many to be a perfect pet reptile for novices and experienced reptile keepers alike.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q146687 Lamprophiidae, Reptile families Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger