''Borikenophis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s in the family

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...

endemic to the Puerto Rican archipelago and the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...

Etymology

The genus name comes from ''Borikén'', the

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

word for

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

and ''ophis'', Greek for "snake".

Species

Listed alphabetically.''Borikenophis''
The Reptile Database * ''

Borikenophis portoricensis ''Borikenophis portoricensis'' (Puerto Rican Spanish: culebra corredora; English: Puerto Rican racer) is a snake endemic to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It can grow to three feet long. Range The Puerto Rican racer is endemic to the isla ...

'' (Reinhardt & Lütken, 1862) – Puerto Rican racer (Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands) * ''

Borikenophis prymnus The Puerto Rican racer (''Borikenophis prymnus'') www.reptile-database.org. is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the island of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), of ...

'' (Schwartz, 1966) – Puerto Rican racer (Puerto Rico) * ''

Borikenophis sanctaecrucis The Saint Croix racer (''Borikenophis sanctaecrucis'') www.reptile-database.org. is a possibly extinct species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the island of Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Etymology The ...

'' (Cope, 1862) –

St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

racer (St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands) - possibly

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

* ''

Borikenophis variegatus The Mona racer or Puerto Rican racer (''Borikenophis variegatus'') www.reptile-database.org. is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen'') ...

'' (Schmidt, 1926) – Mona racer (

Mona Island Mona ( es, Isla de Mona) is the third-largest island of the Puerto Rican archipelago, after the main island of Puerto Rico and Vieques. It is the largest of three islands in the Mona Passage, a strait between the Dominican Republic and Puerto R ...

)

References

Colubrids Snakes of the Caribbean {{Colubrids-stub