''Zamenis'' is a

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 ...

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

non-

venomous snake ''Venomous snakes'' are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. C ...

Etymology

The generic name ''Zamenis'' comes from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

'' ζαμενής'' ( lat. '' vehemens'', '' iracundus'') Wagler, J. (1830). ''Natürliches System der Amphibien : mit vorangehender Classification der Säugethiere und Vögel : ein Beitrag zur vergleichenden Zoologie.'' Munich, Stuttgart and Tübingen: J.G. Cotta. vi + 354 pp. + one plate, in German and Latin. (''Zamenis'', new genus, p. 188.
Available online
at the

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open-access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as a worldwide consortium of natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working ...

(BHL). meaning "angry", "irritable", "fierce".

Species

The following six

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are recognized as being valid: www.reptile-database.org. *''Zamenis hohenackeri'' –

Transcaucasian ratsnake The Transcaucasian ratsnake (''Zamenis hohenackeri)'', also commonly known as the Gavand snake, is a species of nonvenomous ratsnake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Western Asia and the Middle East. There are three recognized s ...

*''Zamenis lineatus'' –

Italian Aesculapian snake The Italian Aesculapian snake (''Zamenis lineatus'') is a species of snake in the Colubridae family. Geographic range ''Z. lineatus'' is endemic to southern Italy and Sicily. The northern limit of its geographical range is the Province of Caser ...

*''Zamenis longissimus'' –

Aesculapian snake #REDIRECT Aesculapian snake {{redirect category shell, {{R from another capitalisation{{R from move ...

*''Zamenis persicus'' –

Persian ratsnake The Persian ratsnake (''Zamenis persicus'') is a species of medium-sized nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Western Asia. Geographic range ''Z. persicus'' is found in temperate northwestern Iran and Azerbaijan, ...

*''Zamenis scalaris'' –

ladder snake The ladder snake (''Zamenis scalaris'') is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to southwestern Europe. Distribution The geographic range of the ladder snake includes Portugal, Spain, southern France a ...

*''Zamenis situla'' –

European ratsnake The European ratsnake (''Zamenis situla''), or the leopard snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake belonging to the family Colubridae. This species is found in southeastern Europe and western Anatolia. Taxonomy The European ratsnake was first f ...

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

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

References

Zamenis Snake genera Taxa named by Johann Georg Wagler Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Colubrids-stub