Common names: advanced snakes. The Alethinophidia are an infraorder of snakes that includes all snakes other than blind snakes and thread snakes. Snakes have long been grouped into families within Alethinophidia based on their morphology, especially that of their teeth. More modern phylogenetic hypotheses using genetic data support the recognition of 19 extant families (see below), although the taxonomy of alethinophidian snakes has long been debated, and ultimately the decision whether to assign a particular clade to a particular Linnaean rank (such as a superfamily, family, or subfamily) is arbitrary.
Etymology The infraorder name Alethinophidia derives from the two Ancient Greek words (), meaning "truthful, genuine", and (), meaning "snake".
Fossil record Fossils of alethinophidians were found in Cenomanian (Middle Cretaceous) sites of Wadi Milk Formation in Wadi Abu Hashim, Sudan. Coniophis presents the vertebral morphology similar to modern-day Aniliidae. Two extinct families from the same location, the Anomalophiidae and Russellophiidae, also belong to the Alethinophidia. Krebsophis is the earliest russellophiid. The family Nigerophiidae includes both aquatic Nubianophis from Wadi Abu Hashim and Nigerophis from the Palaeocene of Niger. The genus Eoanilius (belongs to Aniliidae) appeared in the Eocene. It is also existed in Oligocene and early Miocene. The extinct marine Simoliophidae are known from the Cenomanian of North Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe, indicating a Tethyan distribution; they are notable for preserving evidence of vestigial hindlimbs.
Systematics
Extant taxa Superfamily Amerophidia Family: Aniliidae Stejneger, 1907—red pipesnake Family: Tropidophiidae Brongersma, 1951—Caribbean dwarf "boas" or thunder snakes Superfamily Booidea Family: Boidae Gray, 1825—boas (see article for comments on former families or subfamilies Calabariidae/inae, Sanziniidae/inae, Charinidae/inae, Erycidae/inae, Candoiidae/inae) Superfamily Pythonoidea Family: Pythonidae Fitzinger, 1826—pythons Family: Loxocemidae Cope, 1861—Mexican burrowing pythons Family: Xenopeltidae Bonaparte, 1845—sunbeam snakes Superfamily Uropeltoidea Family: Uropeltidae Müller, 1832—shield-tailed snakes Family: Cylindrophiidae Fitzinger, 1843—Asian pipe snakes Family: Anomochilidae Cundall, Wallach and Rossman, 1993—dwarf pipe snakes Family: Bolyeriidae Hoffstetter, 1946—Splitjaw snakes Family: Xenophidiidae Wallach & Günther, 1998—Spine-jawed snakes Family: Acrochordidae Bonaparte, 1831—wart or file snakes Family: Xenodermidae Oppel, 1811—odd-scaled snakes Family: Pareidae Oppel, 1811—snail-eating snakes Family: Viperidae Oppel, 1811—vipers (including pit vipers) Subfamily: Azemiopinae Liem, Marx and Rabb, 1971—Fea's viper Subfamily: Crotalinae Oppel, 1811—pitvipers (including rattlesnakes) Subfamily: Viperinae Oppel, 1811—true vipers Family: Homalopsidae Günther, 1864—Asian mudsnakes Superfamily: Elapoidea F. Boie, 1827 (merged with Colubroidea by the Reptile Database) Family: Cyclocoridae Weinell & Brown, 2017—Philippine snakes Family: Micrelapidae Das et al., 2023—two-headed snakes Family: Elapidae F. Boie, 1827—Cobras, coral snakes, mambas, taipans, sea snakes, and others Family: Pseudaspididae Cope, 1893—mole snake, western keeled snake, and mock vipers Family: Prosymnidae Gray, 1849—shovel-snouted snakes Family: Psammophiidae Dowling, 1967—sand snakes and allies Family: Atractaspididae Günther, 1858—African burrowing asps, stiletto snakes, harlequin snakes Family: Pseudoxyrhophiidae Dowling, 1975—Malagasy hognose snakes, brook snakes, and allies Family: Lamprophiidae Fitzinger, 1843—lamprophiids Superfamily: Colubroidea Oppel, 1811 Family: Colubridae Oppel, 1811—colubrids, typical snakes (subfamilies sometimes considered distinct families) Subfamily: Sibynophiinae Dunn, 1928—hinged-teeth snakes Subfamily: Natricinae Bonaparte, 1838—keelbacks Subfamily: Pseudoxenodontinae McDowell, 1987 Subfamily: Dipsadinae Bonaparte, 1838
Fossil taxa Based on Gower & Zaher (2022):
Genus †Afrotortrix Rage, 2021 Genus †Amaru Albino, 2018 Genus †Cerberophis Longrich et al., 2012 Genus †Eoanilius Rage, 1974 Genus †Falseryx Szyndlar & Rage, 2003 Genus †Goinophis Holman, 1976 Genus †Hoffstetterella Rage, 1998 Genus †Katariana Deshmukh et al., 2022 Genus †Parapalaeophis Natarajan & Klompmaker, 2026 Genus †Platyspondylia Rage, 1974 Genus †Rottophis Szyndlar & Bohme, 1996 Genus †Szyndlaria Rage & Auge, 2010 Genus †Tuscahomaophis Holman & Case, 1992 Genus †Vectophis Rage & Ford, 1980 Family †Simoliophidae Nopsca, 1925 Family †Palaeophiidae Lydekker, 1888 Family †Nigerophiidae Rage, 1975
See also Scolecophidia, blind snakes, thread snakes. List of snakes, overview of all snake genera.
References
External links
Alethinophidia at Palaeos. Accessed 14 August 2007.