Lycodon

Lycodon
Lycodon aulicus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Lycodon
Fitzinger, 1826
Species

See text.

Synonyms

Cercaspis, Coluber, Leptorhytaon, Ophites, Dryocalamus, Sphecodes, Tetragonosoma, Tytleria

Lycodon subcinctus, Malayan banded wolfsnake, in Letefoho, East Timor

Lycodon is a genus of snakes, commonly known as wolf snakes, in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae.The Neo-Latin name Lycodon is derived from the Greek words λύκος (lykos) meaning wolf and οδόν (odon) meaning tooth, and refers to the fang-like anterior maxillary and mandibular teeth. The species in the genus Lycodon are nonvenomous, but many members strongly resemble the venomous kraits (genus Bungarus) in appearance, an example of Batesian mimicry.

Fossil record

Fossils of Lycodon are known from the Early Pliocene of Henan.

Species

The genus Lycodon comprises 79 species which are recognized as being valid.

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Lycodon.

References

  1. ↑ Fitzinger LI (1826). Neue Classification der Reptilien nach ihren natürlichen Verwandtschaften. Nebst einer Verwandtschafts-tafel und einem Verzeichnisse der Reptilien-Sammlung des K.K. zoologischen Museums zu Wien. Vienna: J.G. Heubner, five unnumbered + 67 pp. + one plate. (Lycodon, new genus, p. 57). (in German and Latin).
  2. 1 2 Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I–XXVIII. (Genus Lycodon, p. 348, Figure 23).
  3. ↑ "Home". britannica.com.
  4. ↑ Mish, Frederick C. (Editor in Chief) (2004). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. 40a + 1,623 pp. ISBN 0-87779-809-5. ("lycopodium", p. 742; "odonate", p. 860).
  5. ↑ Shi, Jingsong; Wang, Yuan; Messenger, Kevin Robert; Jiangzuo, Qigao; Chen, Yu; Jin, Changzhu (2023). "Early Pliocene fossil snakes (Squamata, Colubroidea) with various teeth from the fissure deposit in Queshan, Henan, China". Historical Biology: 1–22. doi:10.1080/08912963.2022.2161382. ISSN 0891-2963. Retrieved 21 September 2024 – via Taylor and Francis Online.
  6. ↑ Uetz, Peter; Hallermann, Jakob. "Lycodon ". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Luu, Vinh Quang; Ziegler, Thomas; Ha, Nghia Van; Le, Minh Duc; Hoang, Tuoi Thi (2019). "A new species of Lycodon Boie, 1826 (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam". Zootaxa. 4586 (2). doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4586.2.3. ISSN 1175-5334.
  8. ↑ Species Lycodon zawi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.