''Meizodon'' is a
genus of snakes in the
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 subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
Colubrinae of the
family 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 ever ...
. The genus ''Meizodon'' contains five
species, all of which are poorly known and are
endemic to
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
.
Species list
*''
Meizodon coronatus''
*''
Meizodon krameri''
*''
Meizodon plumbiceps''
*''
Meizodon regularis''
*''
Meizodon semiornatus''
''
Nota bene'': 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 ''Meizodon''.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''krameri'', is in honor of Swiss
herpetologist Eugen Kramer
Eugen is a masculine given name which may refer to:
* Archduke Eugen of Austria (1863–1954), last Habsburg Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order from 1894 to 1923
* Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (1865–1947), Swedish painter, art collector, and pat ...
(1921-2004).
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Meizodon krameri'', p. 146).]
References
Further reading
*
Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Genus ''Meizodon'', p. 93).
*
Fischer JG (1856). "''Neue Schlangen des Hamburgischen Naturhistorischen Museums'' ". ''Abhandlungen aus dem Gebiete der Naturwissenschaften'' 3 (4): 79-116. (''Meizodon'', new genus, p. 112). (in German).
External links
''Meizodon'' at Life is Short, but Snakes are Long''Meizodon'' at The Reptile Database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q286933
Colubrids
Snake genera
Taxa named by Johann Gustav Fischer