Squamata Families - Snakes

Leptotyphlopidae

Threadsnakes

Leptotyphlopidae distribution

SW USA, South America, Africa, Middle East, Pakistan

Leptotyphlopidae characteristics

small, upper jaws not independently mobile from cranium, sucks juices out of termites and ants, follows pheromone trails of ants and lives in their nests, secretions protect them from termite/ant attacks, oviparous, some communal nesting, one species has mutualism with screech owls

Typhlopidae

Blind snakes

Typhlopidae distribution

Central and South America, Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, SE Asia, Australia

Typhlopidae characteristics

oviparous (some retain eggs prior to laying), most speciose/widely distributed in Scolecophidia, includes the Brahminy Blindsnake

Tropidophiidae

Dwarf Boas

Tropidophiidae distribution

Caribbean and coastal pockets of Central and South America

Tropidophiidae characteristics

small, nocturnal, mostly frog/lizard eaters, some bleed from eyes/mouth as an antipredator behavior, most roll into a ball to hide head, poorly studied

Uropeltidae

Shield-tailed Snakes

Uropeltidae distribution

South India, Sri Lanka

Uropeltidae characteristics

viviparous earthworm eaters, highly adapted burrowing snakes (slender conical head, blunt tail with rough single scale, outer skin moves independently of body, biochemical specializations in front half of body to continually burrow)

Boidae

Boas

Boidae distribution

global (except Australia and Antarctica)

Boidae characteristics

wide variety of extant ecomorphs, labial pits (infrared sensors), most viviparous, males have larger pelvic spurs (femur remnant)

Pythonidae

Pythons

Pythonidae distribution

Only in Eastern Hemisphere (Africa, South and SE Asia, Australia)

Pythonidae characteristics

terrestrial, look similar to boas, some are very large, upregulate metabolism, rapid regrowth of digestive tract tissue, all oviparous, males have larger pelvic spurs (femur remnant), some heat eggs by shivering

Acrochordidae

File Snakes

Acrochordidae distribution

Coast of South and SE Asia, Indonesia through Australia

Acrochordidae characteristics

all aquatic (marine and freshwater), marine sp have salt gland under tongue, loose baggy skin, ventral scale hangs down to act as a fin, eats nocturnal fish and crustacean predators, all viviparous, nearly incapable of terrestrial movement

Pareidae

Asian Snail-Eating Snakes

Pareidae distribution

SE Asia, Borneo, Sulawesi

Pareidae characteristics

asymmetrical lower jaws for prying snails from spiral shell, some eat slugs/lizards and have symmetrical lower jaw, nocturnal, oviparous

Viperidae

Vipers

Viperidae distribution

Worldwide (except Australia)

Viperidae characteristics

diverse, several ecomorphs, camouflaged ambush predators, solenoglyphous (single hollow fang attached to maxilla), fangs fold back when not in use, most have live birth, two subfamilies

Colubridae

Colubrid Snakes (trashcan family)

Colubridae distribution

worldwide (except arctic and the outback)

Colubridae characteristics

most diverse family of snakes, hard to define as a family, most familiar snakes to North Americans, 33/40 species in Kansas

Elapidae

Cobras, Coral Snakes, Mambas, Kraits, Sea Snakes

Elapidae distribution

Global, except Europe, Central Asia, and North Asia

Elapidae characteristics

highly diverse, proteroglyphous (fangs are fixed to the jaw), top 22 most venomous snakes (by volume), 2 independent lineages went to sea

Lamprophiidae

House, Sand, Stiletto snakes

Lamprophiidae distribution

Africa, South Europe, Middle East to South Asia

Lamprophiidae characteristics

hyperdiverse, many ecomorphs, 8 subfamilies, stiletto snakes (burrowing venomous) envenomate with a single fang sideways to stab prey within a burrow