''Macroprotodon'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

s in the

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 ...

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ev ...

. All of the member

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of the genus are commonly known as false smooth snakes.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Macroprotodon'' was originally described by French zoologist

Alphone Guichenot Antoine Alphonse Guichenot (31 July 1809 in Paris – 17 February 1876 in Cluny) was a French zoologist who taught, researched, and participated in specimen collecting trips on behalf of the ''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'' (Paris), in ...

in 1850. The genus is in the subfamily

Colubrinae The Colubrinae are a subfamily of the family Colubridae of snakes. It includes numerous genera, and although taxonomic sources often disagree on the exact number, The Reptile Database lists 717 species in 92 genera as of September 2019. It is t ...

of the family Colubridae.

Species

''Macroprotodon'' contains four species. *'' M. abubakeri'' *'' M. brevis'' – western false smooth snake *'' M. cucullatus'' – false smooth snake *'' M. mauritanicus'' Some authorities have considered some of these species to be subspecies of the other species. Busack SD, McCoy CJ (1990). "Distribution, variation, and biology of ''Macroprotodon cucullatus'' (Reptilia: Colubridae: Boiginae)". ''Ann. Carnegie Mus.'' 59 (4): 261-286. ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atte ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

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

Taxonomy

Species

References

Further reading