''Xylophis'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Pareidae Pareidae is a small family of snakes found largely in southeast Asia, with an isolated subfamily endemic to southwestern India. It encompasses 42 species in four genera divided into two subfamilies: Pareinae and Xylophiinae. Both families are tho ...

. The genus contains five species, all of which are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the Western Ghats in southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. They constitute the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

subfamily Xylophiinae. They are the only pareid snakes found in India and the only snakes in the family found outside

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

Species

The following 5 species are recognized as being valid *'' Xylophis captaini'' — Captain's wood snake, Captain's xylophis *'' Xylophis deepaki'' Narayanan, Mohapatra, Balan, Das, & Gower, 2021 — Deepak's wood snake *'' Xylophis mosaicus'' — Anamalai wood snake *''

Xylophis perroteti ''Xylophis perroteti'', commonly known as Perrotet's mountain snake and the striped narrow-headed snake, is a species of snake in the family Pareidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Etymology Both the specific name, ...

'' — Perrotet's mountain snake, striped narrow-headed snake *'' Xylophis stenorhynchus'' — Günther's mountain snake

Species

References

Further reading