''Rhabdops'' is a
genus of
snakes in the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
Natricinae of 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 the
Western Ghats of
India.
Species
The genus ''Rhabdops'' contains two recognized valid
species:
*''
Rhabdops aquaticus
''Rhabdops aquaticus'', also known as the water rhabdops and aquatic rhabdops, is a nonvenomous aquatic species of snake. It is endemic to the Western Ghats in southern Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, and Goa states, India
India, off ...
'' – aquatic rhabdops, water rhabdops
*''
Rhabdops olivaceus
''Rhabdops olivaceus'', the olive trapezoid snake or olive forest snake, is a snake endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Following the description of populations in Goa, northernmost Karnataka, and southern Maharashtra as a new species, ''Rh ...
'' – olive forest snake, olive trapezoid snake
The species ''
R. bicolor'' was removed from ''Rhabdops'' in 2019, and placed in the newly erected genus ''
Smithophis.''
''
Nota bene'': A
binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Rhabdops''.
References
Further reading
*
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. (''Rhabdops'', new genus, p. 300).
*
Smith MA (1943). ''The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes.'' London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Genus ''Rhabdops'', pp. 327–328).
Snake genera
Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger
{{Colubrid-stub