''Liophis'' is a former

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 ...

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

colubrid

snakes Snakes are elongated Limbless vertebrate, limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales much like other members of ...

. They have a wide range of nondescript and local names, among these "water snakes", "''mapepires''", "corals" or "racers".

Taxonomy and systematics

The status of the genus ''Liophis'' on the mainland of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

is highly uncertain, and some authorities assign some species to the

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

'' Dromicus,

Erythrolamprus ''Erythrolamprus'' is a genus of colubrid snakes native to Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. They include the false coral snakes, which appear to be coral snake mimics. Classification The genus ''Erythrolamprus'' belongs to ...

, Leimadophis, Lygophis'', and '' Philodryas''. Others consider ''Dromicus'' and ''Leimadophis'' to be synonyms of ''Liophis''. Freiberg M (1982). ''Snakes of South America''. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . ("Note" on pp. 94-95).

Taxonomy and systematics

References

Further reading