Leptophis

Leptophis ahaetulla

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Colubroidea

Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Amorphea Cladus: Obazoa Cladus: Opisthokonta Cladus: Holozoa Cladus: Filozoa Cladus: Choanozoa Regnum: Animalia Subregnum: Eumetazoa Cladus: ParaHoxozoa Cladus: Bilateria Cladus: Nephrozoa Superphylum: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Cladus: Olfactores Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Cladus: Eugnathostomata Cladus: Osteichthyes Cladus: Sarcopterygii Cladus: Rhipidistia Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes Cladus: Elpistostegalia Cladus: Stegocephali Cladus: Tetrapoda Cladus: Reptiliomorpha Cladus: Amniota Cladus: Sauropsida Classis: Reptilia Cladus: Eureptilia Cladus: Romeriida Cladus: Diapsida Cladus: Neodiapsida Cladus: Sauria Cladus: Lepidosauromorpha Subclassis: Lepidosauria Ordo: Squamata Cladus: Unidentata, Episquamata Cladus: Toxicofera Subordo: Serpentes Cladus: Caenophidia Superfamilia: Colubroidea

Familia: Colubridae
Subfamilia: Colubrinae
Genus: Leptophis
Species (20): L. ahaetulla – L. bocourti – L. bolivianus – L. coeruleodorsus – L. cupreus – L. depressirostris – L. dibernardoi – L. diplotropis – L. liocercus – L. marginatus – L. mexicanus – L. modestus – L. mystacinus – L. nebulosus – L. nigromarginatus – L. occidentalis – L. praestans – L. riveti – L. stimsoni – L. urostictus

Name

Leptophis Bell, 1825: 328 [conserved name]

• Type species: Coluber ahaetulla Linnaeus, 1758, by subsequent designation by Fitzinger (1843: 26).
• Gender: masculine.
• Placed on the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology by Opinion 524 (1958: 263).

Synonyms

• Ahaetulla Gray, 1825: 208 [nomen praeoccupatum pro Ahaetulla Link, 1807]
  • Type species: Coluber ahaetulla Linnaeus, 1758, by absolute tautonymy.

References

Primary references

• Bell, T. 1825. On Leptophina, a group of serpents comprising the genus Dryinus of Merrem, and a newly formed genus proposed to be named Leptophis. The Zoological Journal 2(7): 322–329. BHL
• Gray, J.E. 1825. A synopsis of the genera of reptiles and Amphibia, with a description of some new species. Annals of Philosophy 10: 193–217. BHL Reference page. 
• Fitzinger, L. 1843. Systema Reptilium. Fasciculus primus. Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel: Wien. vi + 106 pp. BHL Reference page. 
• International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 1958. Opinion 524. Interpretation of the nominal species Coluber ahaetulla Linnaeus, 1758, and addition to the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology of the generic name Ahaetulla Link, 1807 with Ahaetulla mycterizans Link, 1807 as type species (Class Reptilia). pp. 261–276 In Hemming, F. (Ed.). Opinions and Declarations of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. Volume 19. International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature: London. BHL Reference page. 

Additional references

• Murphy, J.C., Charles, S.P., Lehtinen, R.M. & Koeller, K.L. 2013. A molecular and morphological characterization of Oliver’s parrot snake, Leptophis coeruleodorsus (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae) with the description of a new species from Tobago. Zootaxa 3718(6): 561–574. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3718.6.4 Reference page. 
• Albuquerque, N.R., Santos, F.M., Borges-Nojosa, D.M. & Ávila, R.W. 2022. A New Species of Parrot-Snake of the Genus Leptophis Bell, 1825 (Serpentes, Colubridae) from the Semi-Arid Region of Brazil. South American Journal of Herpetology 23(2): 7–24. DOI: 10.2994/SAJH-D-19-00113.1 Reference page. 
• Albuquerque, N.R., Martins, R.H., Carvalho, P.S., Shepard, D.B. & Santana, D.J. 2025. A new species of parrot snake, Leptophis (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the Brazilian Cerrado. PeerJ 13: e18528. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.18528 Reference page. 

Links

• Uetz, P., Freed, P., Aguilar, R., F. Reyes, J. Kudera & Hošek, J. (eds.) 2026. Leptophis . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 20 May 2025.

Vernacular names

• English: Parrot Snakes
• español: Culebras-perico

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