''Tachymenis'' 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 ...
of
venomous snake
Venomous snakes are Species (biology), species of the Suborder (biology), suborder Snake, Serpentes that are capable of producing Snake venom, venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The v ...
s belonging to the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
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 ...
.
Species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
in the genus ''Tachymenis'' are commonly known as slender snakes or short-tailed snakes and are primarily found in southern
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. ''Tachymenis'' are rear-fanged (
opisthoglyphous
A snake skeleton consists primarily of the skull, vertebrae, and ribs, with only vestigial remnants of the limbs.
Skull
The skull of a snake is a very complex structure, with numerous joints to allow the snake to swallow prey far larger than it ...
) and are capable of producing a medically significant
bite
Biting is a common zoological behavior involving the active, rapid closing of the jaw around an object. This behavior is found in toothed animals such as mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish, but can also exist in arthropods. Myocytic con ...
, with at least one species, ''
T. peruviana'', responsible for human fatalities.
Species
The following species are recognized by the
Reptile Database
The Reptile Database is a scientific database that collects taxonomic information on all living reptile species (i.e. no fossil species such as dinosaurs). The database focuses on species (as opposed to higher ranks such as families) and has entrie ...
.
["''Tachymenis'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.]
*''
Tachymenis ocellata''
Dumeril, Bibron, & Dumeril, 1854
*''
Tachymenis peruviana''
Wiegmann, 1835
*''
Tachymenis trigonatus''
(Leybold, 1873)
References
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 ''Tachymenis'', pp. 117–118; ''T. peruviana'', p. 118; ''T. affinis'', new species, p. 119 + Plate VII, figure 1
hree views.
*
Freiberg M (1982). ''Snakes of South America''. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (''Tachymenis'', pp. 75, 76, 111).
*
Wiegmann AFA (1835). "''Beiträge zur Zoologie, gesammelt auf einer Reise um die Erde, von Dr. F.J.F. Meyen, siebente Abhandlung. Amphibien'' ". ''Nova Acta Physico-Medica Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae'' 17: 185-268. (''Tachymenis'', new genus, pp. 251–252; ''T. peruviana'', new species, pp. 252–253 + Plate XX, figure 1). (in German and Latin).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2714474
Colubrids
Snake genera
Taxa named by Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann