Colubridae
Sign in to saveColubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colubrid snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica.
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Colubridae is the largest family of snakes, containing 249 different genera and found on every continent except Antarctica. This ancient group of snakes dates back at least to the Late Eocene epoch, making them one of the most successful and widespread snake families in the world.
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Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Colubroidea
- Image
- Natrix natrix (Marek Szczepanek).jpg
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Article
10 sectionsContents
- Description
- Reproduction
- Classification
- Current subfamilies
- Former subfamilies
- Fossil record
- References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- External links
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colubrid snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica.
==Description== Colubrids are a very diverse group of snakes. They can exhibit many different body styles, body sizes, colours, and patterns. They can also live in many different types of habitats including aquatic, terrestrial, semi-arboreal, arboreal, desert, mountainous forests, semi-fossorial, and brackish waters. A primarily shy and harmless group of snakes, the vast majority of colubrids are not venomous, nor do most colubrids produce venom that is medically impactful to mammals. However, the bites of some can escalate quickly to emergency situations. Furthermore, within the Colubridae, the South African boomslang and twig snakes, as well as the Asian keelback snakes (Rhabdophis sp.) have long been notorious for inflicting the worst bites on humans, with the most confirmed fatalities.