Hydrophiinae is a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

of venomous snakes in the family

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids , from , variant of "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 '' Emydocephalus ...

. It contains most sea snakes and many genera of venomous land snakes found in Australasia, such as the taipans (''Oxyuranus''), tiger snakes (''Notechis''), brown snakes (''Pseudonaja'') and death adders (''Acanthophis''). KeriliaJerdoniSmith

Taxonomy

Phylogeny and classification

Historically, subfamily Hydrophiinae included all " sea snakes" and was commonly used to refer to both the true sea snakes (tribe Hydrophiini) and the sea kraits ('' Laticauda''). However, large-scale molecular phylogenetic analyses and studies integrating phenotypic data (including morphological, ecological, and cytogenetic characteristics) with molecular data support the hypothesis that '' Laticauda'' is the sister group to all other hydrophiines. This clade containing all hydrophiines except '' Laticauda'' is sometimes referred to as Oxyuraninae. Given its basal position, ''Laticauda'' is sometimes placed in a separate subfamily, Laticaudinae, sister to Hydrophiinae ''sensu stricto''. Molecular evidence further suggests that true sea snakes (Hydrophiini) are more closely related to terrestrial oxyuranine elapids than to ''Laticauda'', implying that marine adaptations evolved convergently in the two groups. Sanders et al. (2008) identified the closest extant relatives of Hydrophiini as Australasian terrestrial elapids. Maximum likelihood analysis suggested that '' Hemiaspis'', a semi-aquatic genus known as "swamp snakes," is sister to sea snakes. In contrast, maximum parsimony analysis in the same study recovered Hydrophiini as sister to a broader ''Notechis'' group, including genera such as '' Hoplocephalus'', '' Paroplocephalus'', '' Tropidechis'', '' Notechis'', '' Austrelaps'', '' Drysdalia'', and '' Echiopsis''. Although subsequent phylogenetic efforts have focused on relationships within Hydrophiini, broader genomic sampling across Hydrophiinae may further clarify these interrelationships. Despite uncertainty surrounding the broader relationships within Hydrophiinae, Sanders et al. (2008) presented strong molecular support for the monophyly of Hydrophiini, the "true sea snakes." This group is characterized by two morphological synapomorphies: dorsally oriented nostrils located posteriorly, and nostrils sealable by fleshy valvular flaps.

Genera

According to the

Reptile Database The Reptile Database is a scientific database that collects taxonomic information on all living reptile species (i.e. no fossil species such as dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared ...

, Hydrophiinae contains the following 38 genera: (Sea snakes are marked with asterisks.)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q460286 Elapidae Venomous snakes