''Contia'' is a small
genus of
snakes 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 ...
. The genus is
endemic to North America.
Etymology
The
generic name, ''Contia'', is in honor of
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
John Lawrence LeConte.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Genus ''Contia'', p. 154).]
Species
There are two recognized species:
References
Further reading
*
Baird SF,
Girard CF (1853). ''Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Part I.—Serpents''. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Institution. xvi + 172 pp. (''Contia'', new genus, p. 110).
Colubrids
Snake genera
Snakes of North America
Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird
Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard
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