List of Serpentes families - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This is an overview of the suborder Serpentes, its two infraorders (subdivisions) and the families

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

they contain. This is the group of reptiles commonly known as snakes.

Taxonomy

There are two infraorders of living snakes: Alethinophidia

Alethinophidia

The Alethinophidia are an infraorder of snakes that includes all snakes other than blind snakes and thread snakes. Currently, 15 families are recognized, including 9 subfamilies and 316 genera.* Family: Acrochordidae Bonaparte, 1831 -- wart snakes...

and Scolecophidia

Scolecophidia

The Scolecophidia are an infraorder of snakes. They range in size from 10-100 cm in length, but may only be as small as 2 mm. All are fossorial. Currently, 3 families and 12 genera are recognized.-Families:-See also:...

. This separation is based on primarily on morphological

Comparative anatomy

Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny .-Description:...

characteristics between family groups, but more recently, mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...

.

As with most taxonomic classifications, there are many different interpretations of the evolutionary relationships. These include moving of families to different infraorders, merging or splitting of the infraorders and merging and splitting of the families. For instance, many sources classify Boidae and Pythonidae as the same family, or keep others, such as Elapidae

Elapidae

Elapidae is a family of venomous snakes found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, terrestrially in Asia, Australia, Africa, North America and South America and aquatically in the Pacific and Indian Oceans...

and Hydrophiidae, separate for practical reasons despite their extremely close relation.

Family	Common Names	Example Species	Example Photo
Alethinophidia Alethinophidia The Alethinophidia are an infraorder of snakes that includes all snakes other than blind snakes and thread snakes. Currently, 15 families are recognized, including 9 subfamilies and 316 genera.* Family: Acrochordidae Bonaparte, 1831 -- wart snakes... 15 families
Acrochordidae Acrochordidae The Acrochordidae are a monotypic family created for the genus Acrochordus. This is a group of primitive aquatic snakes found in Australia and Indonesia. Currently, 3 species are recognized.-Description:... Bonaparte Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano was a French naturalist and ornithologist.-Biography:... , 1831	File snakes	Arafura file snake (Acrochordus arafurae)
Aniliidae Aniliidae The Aniliidae are a monotypic family created for the monotypic genus Anilius that contains the species A. scytale, found in South America. This snake possesses a vestigial pelvic girdle that is visible as a pair of cloacal spurs. It is ovoviviparous. The diet consists mainly of amphibians and... Stejneger Leonhard Hess Stejneger Leonhard Hess Stejneger was a Norwegian-born American ornithologist, herpetologist and zoologist. Stejneger specialized in vertebrate natural history studies. He gained his greatest reputation with reptiles and amphibians.... , 1907	Coral pipe snakes	False coral snake (Anilius scytale)
Anomochilidae Cundall, Wallach and Rossman, 1993	Dwarf pipe snakes	Leonard's pipe snake, (Anomochilus leonardi Anomochilus leonardi Anomochilus leonardi is a species of snake in the family Anomochilidae, which is endemic to Malaysia. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Conservation status:... )
Atractaspididae Atractaspididae The Atractaspididae are a family of snakes found in Africa and the Middle East. Currently, 12 genera are recognized.-Description:This family includes many genera formerly classed in other families, on the basis of fang type. It includes fangless , rear-fanged , fixed-fanged , and viper-like species... Günther Albert C. L. G. Günther Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther , was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist.... , 1858	Mole vipers	Western purple-glossed snake (Amblyodipsas unicolor)
Boidae Gray John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray .... , 1825	Boas	Amazon tree boa (Corallus hortulanus)
Bolyeridae Hoffstetter Robert Hoffstetter Robert Hoffstetter was a 20th century taxonomist who was influential in categorizing reptiles. He labeled the Bolyeriidae family of snakes.-References:... , 1946	Round island boas	Round Island burrowing boa (Bolyeria multocarinata)
Colubridae Oppel Nicolaus Michael Oppel Nicolaus Michael Oppel was a German naturalist. He was a student of, and worked as an assistant to, André Marie Constant Duméril at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris, France, cataloging and classifying species of reptiles... , 1811	Colubrids	Grass snake (Natrix natrix)
Cylindrophiidae Fitzinger Leopold Fitzinger Leopold Joseph Franz Johann Fitzinger was an Austrian zoologist.Fitzinger was born in Vienna and studied botany at the university of Vienna under Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin... , 1843	Asian pipe snakes	Red-tailed pipe snake (Cylindrophis ruffus)
Elapidae Elapidae Elapidae is a family of venomous snakes found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, terrestrially in Asia, Australia, Africa, North America and South America and aquatically in the Pacific and Indian Oceans... Boie Friedrich Boie Friedrich Boie was a German scientist and brother of Heinrich Boie. He was born at Meldorf in Holstein and died at Kiel.... , 1827	Cobras, coral snakes, mambas, kraits, sea snakes, sea kraits, Australian elapids	King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)
Loxocemidae Loxocemidae The Loxocemidae are a monotypic family of snakes created for the monotypic genus Loxocemus that contains the species L. bicolor found in Central America. Loxocemidae is the smallest snake family, having just one species and one genera. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:Being the... Cope Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen... , 1861	Mexican burrowing snakes	Mexican burrowing snake (Loxocemus bicolor)
Pythonidae Fitzinger Leopold Fitzinger Leopold Joseph Franz Johann Fitzinger was an Austrian zoologist.Fitzinger was born in Vienna and studied botany at the university of Vienna under Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin... , 1826	Pythons	Indian python (Python molurus)
Tropidophiidae Brongersma, 1951	Dwarf boas	Dusky dwarf boa (Tropidophis melanurus)
Uropeltidae Müller Johannes Peter Müller Johannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Early years and education:... , 1832	Shield-tailed snakes, short-tailed snakes	Ocellated shield-tail (Uropeltis ocellatus Uropeltis ocellatus Uropeltis ocellata is a non-venomous shield tail snake species found in southern India. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:... )
Viperidae Viperidae The Viperidae are a family of venomous snakes found all over the world, except in Antarctica, Australia, Ireland, Madagascar, Hawaii, various other isolated islands, and above the Arctic Circle. All have relatively long, hinged fangs that permit deep penetration and injection of venom. Four... Oppel Nicolaus Michael Oppel Nicolaus Michael Oppel was a German naturalist. He was a student of, and worked as an assistant to, André Marie Constant Duméril at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris, France, cataloging and classifying species of reptiles... , 1811	Vipers, pitvipers, rattlesnakes	European asp (Vipera aspis Vipera aspis Vipera aspis is a venomous viper species found in southwestern Europe. Bites from this species can be more severe than from the European adder, V. berus; not only can they be very painful, but about 4% of all untreated bites are fatal... )
Xenopeltidae Xenopeltidae The Xenopeltidae are a monotypic family of snakes created to the genus Xenopeltis, which is found in Southeast Asia. Its members are known for their highly iridescent scales. Currently, two species are recognized and no subspecies.-Description:... Bonaparte Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano was a French naturalist and ornithologist.-Biography:... , 1845	Sunbeam snakes	Sunbeam snake (Xenopeltis unicolor Xenopeltis unicolor Xenopeltis unicolor is a non-venomous sunbeam snake species found in Southeast Asia and some regions of Indonesia. This is a primitive snake known for both its highly iridescent scales and its ability to reproduce quickly, as it is Oviparous and as such can lay up to 10 eggs at a time. No... )
Scolecophidia Scolecophidia The Scolecophidia are an infraorder of snakes. They range in size from 10-100 cm in length, but may only be as small as 2 mm. All are fossorial. Currently, 3 families and 12 genera are recognized.-Families:-See also:... 3 families
Family	Common Names	Example Species	Example Photo
Anomalepidae Taylor Edward Harrison Taylor Edward Harrison Taylor was an American herpetologist from Kansas.He was born in Maysville, Missouri and studied at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, graduating with a B.A. in 1912. Subsequently, he went to the Philippines, where at first he held a teacher's post in a village in central... , 1939	Dawn blind snakes	Dawn blind snake (Liotyphlops beui Liotyphlops beui Liotyphlops beui is a species of snake in the Anomalepididae family. It is endemic to Brazil.... )
Leptotyphlopidae Leptotyphlopidae The Leptotyphlopidae are a family of snakes found in North and South America, Africa, and Asia. All are fossorial and adapted to burrowing, feeding on ants and termites... Stejneger Leonhard Hess Stejneger Leonhard Hess Stejneger was a Norwegian-born American ornithologist, herpetologist and zoologist. Stejneger specialized in vertebrate natural history studies. He gained his greatest reputation with reptiles and amphibians.... , 1892	Slender blind snakes	Texas blind snake (Leptotyphlops dulcis)
Typhlopidae Typhlopidae The Typhlopidae are a family of blind snakes. They are found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and all mainland Australia and various islands. The rostral scale overhangs the mouth to form a shovel like burrowing structure. They live underground in burrows, and since... Merrem Blasius Merrem Blasius Merrem was a German naturalist.Merrem was born at Bremen, and studied at the university of Göttingen under Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. He developed an interest in zoology, particularly ornithology... , 1820	Blind snakes	Black blind snake (Typhlops reticulatus Typhlops reticulatus Typhlops reticulatus is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.... )