Orthriophis

Orthriophis
Orthriophis taeniurus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Subfamily:	Colubrinae
Genus:	Orthriophis Utiger et al., 2002

Orthriophis is a genus of Old World ratsnakes, containing four species of ratsnakes which were formerly assigned to the genus Elaphe. Based on DNA evidence Utiger et al. elected to create the genus Orthriophis in 2002.^[1]

Etymology

The generic name, Orthriophis, derives from the Greek orthros (ορθρος) for dawn and ophis (οφις) for snake, referring to the snakes' high level of activity in the early morning.

Species

The following four species are recognized as being valid:^[2]

• Orthriophis cantoris (Boulenger, 1894) – Cantor's ratsnake^[3]
• Orthriophis hodgsoni (Günther, 1860) – Hodgson's ratsnake^[4]
• Orthriophis moellendorffi (Boettger, 1886) – 100 flower ratsnake, Möllendorff's ratsnake^[5]
  (the specific name is sometimes spelled "moellendorfi ")
• Orthriophis taeniurus (Cope, 1861) - beauty snake

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

References

1. Utiger U, Helfenberger N, Schätti B, Schmidt C, Ruf M, Ziswiler V. 2002. Molecular Systematics and Phylogeny of Old and New World Ratsnakes, Elaphe auct., and Related Genera (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae). Russian J. Herpetol. 9 (2): 105-124. (Orthriophis, new genus, p. 110).
2. "Orthriophis ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
3. Beolens et al. p. 47.
4. Beolens et al. p. 124.
5. Beolens et al. p. 181.

Bibliography

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.