Rhamnophis

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.

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

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]

  • Rhamnophis aethiopissa Günther, 1862 - splendid dagger-tooth tree snake
  • Rhamnophis batesii (Boulenger, 1908) - spotted dagger-tooth tree snake

Etymology

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

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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
  • Boulenger GA. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I- XXV. (Genus Rhamnophis, p. 632).
  • Boulenger GA. 1908. Descriptions of Three new Snakes from Africa. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Eighth Series 2: 93–94. (Thrasops batesii, p. 93).
  • Günther A. 1862. On new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Third Series 9: 124–132.
    (Genus Rhamnophis, p. 129; species Rhamnophis aethiopissa, p. 129 + Plate X).


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