Rhamnophis

Rhamnophis
Rhamnophis aethiopissa, illustration by G.H. Ford (1862) for Günthers original description.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Rhamnophis
Günther, 1862

Rhamnophis is a genus of arboreal snakes, commonly known as dagger-tooth tree snakes or large-eyed tree snakes, in the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to equatorial sub-Saharan Africa.

Taxonomy

The status of this genus has long been subject to debate, and has been treated as a synonym of Thrasops by some authors. Both genera belong to the tribe Dispholidini, and are closely related to the genera Dispholidus, Thelotornis, and Xyelodontophis.

Species

Two species are recognized.[1]

Etymology

The specific name, batesii, is in honor of American naturalist George Latimer Bates.[2]

References

  1. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Rhamnophis batesii, p. 19).

Further reading


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