''Xenodon'' is a
genus of
New World 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 ...
Dipsadinae 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 ...
.
Geographic range
Species of the genus ''Xenodon'' are found in
Mexico,
Central America, and
South America.
[
]
Diet
Snakes in the genus ''Xenodon'' prey almost exclusively on toads.[ Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). ''Introduction to Herpetology: Third Edition''. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. xi + 378 pp. . (Genus ''Xenodon'', p. 149).]
Species
The following 12 species are recognized as being valid.[
*'' Xenodon dorbignyi''
*'' Xenodon guentheri''
*'' Xenodon histricus''
*'' Xenodon matogrossensis''
*'' Xenodon merremii''
*'' Xenodon nattereri''
*'' Xenodon neuwiedii''
*'' Xenodon pulcher''
*'']Xenodon rabdocephalus
''Xenodon rabdocephalus'', commonly known as the false fer-de-lance, is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Central America and northern South America. There are two recognized subspe ...
''
*'' Xenodon semicinctus''
*'' Xenodon severus''
*'' Xenodon werneri''
'' Nota bene'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Xenodon''.
References
Further reading
* Boie H (1826). "''Notice sur l'Erpétologie de l'île de Java'' ". ''Bulletin des Sciences Naturelles et de Géologie'' 9 (203): 233–240. (''Xenodon'', new genus, p. 238). (in French).
* Freiberg M (1982). ''Snakes of South America''. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Genus ''Xenodon'', p. 113).
Xenodon
Snake genera
Taxa named by Heinrich Boie
{{Colubrid-stub