''Chamaelycus'' 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 ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

s, commonly referred to as banded 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 ...

Lamprophiidae The Lamprophiidae are a family of snakes found throughout much of Africa, including Seychelles. There are 89 species as of July 2022. Biology Lamprophiids are a diverse group of snakes. Many are terrestrial but some are fossorial (e.g. '' Ambly ...

. The genus is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

Species

The following three species are recognized as being valid.. www.reptile-database.org. *'' Chamaelycus christyi'' Boulenger, 1919 – Christy's banded snake *'' Chamaelycus fasciatus'' ( Günther, 1858) – African banded snake *'' Chamaelycus parkeri'' (

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

, 1934) – Parker's banded snake ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Chamaelycus''.

Taxonomy

The species formerly known as ''Chamaelycus werneri'' , is considered to be a synonym of ''C. fasciatus''.

Etymology

The specific names, ''christyi'', ''parkeri'', and ''werneri'', are in honor of Drs.

Cuthbert Christy Cuthbert Christy (1863 – 29 May 1932) was an English medical doctor and zoologist who undertook extensive explorations of Central Africa during the first part of the 20th century. He was known for his work on sleeping sickness, and for the Chr ...

Hampton Wildman Parker Hampton Wildman Parker, CBE (5 July 1897 – 2 September 1968) was an English zoologist. Parker graduated from Cambridge in 1923 with degrees in botany, zoology, and chemistry. Within the same year, he joined the staff of the British Museum (Natu ...

, and

Franz Werner Franz Josef Maria Werner (15 August 1867 in Vienna – 28 February 1939 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist and explorer. Specializing as a herpetologist and entomologist, Werner described numerous species and other taxa of frogs, snakes, inse ...

, respectively. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Chamaelycus christyi'', p. 54; ''C. parkeri'', p. 200; ''C. werneri'', p. 282).

Species

Taxonomy

Etymology

References

Further reading