Alethinophidia

Alethinophidia; Temporal range: 94–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Cenomanian to Present
	Grass snake, Natrix natrix
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Infraorder:	Alethinophidia; Nopcsa, 1923
Subclades
	Afrophidia; Amerophidia;

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^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^{[excessive citations]} 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 ἀληθινός (alēthinós), meaning "truthful, genuine", and ὄφις (óphis), meaning "snake".^[12]^[13]

Fossil record

Fossils of alethinophidians were found in Cenomanian (Middle Cretaceous) sites of Wadi Milk Formation in Wadi Abu Hashim, Sudan.^[1] 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^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[14]

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)^[15]
- 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):^[16]

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 †Kataria Scanferla et al., 2013
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

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d J.-C. Rage and C. Werner. 1999."Mid-Cretaceous (Cenomanian) snakes from Wadi Abu Hashim, Sudan: The earliest snake assemblage". 35, 85-110
^ "Alethinophidia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
^ Pyron, R. A.; Burbrink, F.; Wiens, J. J. (2013). "A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13 (1): 93. Bibcode:2013BMCEE..13...93P. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-93. PMC 3682911. PMID 23627680.
^ Reynolds, RG; Niemiller, ML; Revell, LJ (2014). "Toward a Tree-of-Life for the boas and pythons: multilocus species-level phylogeny with unprecedented taxon sampling" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 71: 201–213. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.011. PMID 24315866. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-02. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
^ Streicher, J. W.; Ruane, S. (2018). "Phylogenomics of Snakes". eLS: 1–8. doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0027476. ISBN 9780470015902.
^ Figueroa, A.; McKelvy, A. D.; Grismer, L. L.; Bell, C. D.; Lailvaux, S. P. (2016). "A species-level phylogeny of extant snakes with description of a new colubrid subfamily and genus". PLOS ONE. 11 (9): e0161070. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1161070F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0161070. PMC 5014348. PMID 27603205.
^ Zheng, Y; Wiens, JJ (2016). "Combining phylogenomic and supermatrix approaches, and a time-calibrated phylogeny for squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) based on 52 genes and 4162 species" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 94 (Pt B): 537–547. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.009. PMID 26475614.
^ Scanlon, J. D.; Lee, M. S. Y. (2011). Aldridge, R. D.; Sever, D. M. (eds.). The Major Clades of Living Snakes: Morphological Evolution, Molecular Phylogeny, and Divergence Dates in Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Snakes. Enfield, NH: Science Publishers. pp. 55–95.
^ Vidal, N.; Delmas, A. S.; Hedges, S. B. (2007). Henderson, R. W.; Powell, R. (eds.). The higher-level relationships of alethinophidian snakes inferred from seven nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Eagle Mountain, Utah, USA: Eagle Mountain Publishing. pp. 27–33.
^ Vitt, L. J.; Caldwell, J. P. (2014). Herpetology: an introductory biology of amphibians and reptiles (4th ed.). Burlington: Academic Press. pp. 108–109.
^ Uetz, Peter. "Serpentes at The Reptile Database". The Reptile Database. EMBL. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
^ Bailly, Anatole (1981-01-01). Abrégé du dictionnaire grec français. Paris: Hachette. ISBN 978-2010035289. OCLC 461974285.
^ Bailly, Anatole. "Greek-french dictionary online". www.tabularium.be. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
^ Hsiang, Allison Y.; Field, Daniel J.; Webster, Timothy H.; Behlke, Adam DB; Davis, Matthew B.; Racicot, Rachel A.; Gauthier, Jacques A. (2015-05-20). "The origin of snakes: revealing the ecology, behavior, and evolutionary history of early snakes using genomics, phenomics, and the fossil record". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15 (1): 87. Bibcode:2015BMCEE..15...87H. doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0358-5. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 4438441. PMID 25989795.
^ "Search results | The Reptile Database". reptile-database.reptarium.cz. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
^ Gower, David J.; Zaher, Hussam (2022-08-11). The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes. Cambridge University Press. p. 58. doi:10.1017/9781108938891.027.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

External links

Alethinophidia at Palaeos. Accessed 14 August 2007.

[Rage1999-1] J.-C. Rage and C. Werner. 1999."Mid-Cretaceous (Cenomanian) snakes from Wadi Abu Hashim, Sudan: The earliest snake assemblage". 35, 85-110

[ITIS-2] "Alethinophidia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 14 May 2018.

[3] Pyron, R. A.; Burbrink, F.; Wiens, J. J. (2013). "A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13 (1): 93. Bibcode:2013BMCEE..13...93P. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-93. PMC 3682911. PMID 23627680.

[Reynolds14-4] Reynolds, RG; Niemiller, ML; Revell, LJ (2014). "Toward a Tree-of-Life for the boas and pythons: multilocus species-level phylogeny with unprecedented taxon sampling" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 71: 201–213. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.011. PMID 24315866. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-02. Retrieved 2018-05-14.

[5] Streicher, J. W.; Ruane, S. (2018). "Phylogenomics of Snakes". eLS: 1–8. doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0027476. ISBN 9780470015902.

[Figueroa16-6] Figueroa, A.; McKelvy, A. D.; Grismer, L. L.; Bell, C. D.; Lailvaux, S. P. (2016). "A species-level phylogeny of extant snakes with description of a new colubrid subfamily and genus". PLOS ONE. 11 (9): e0161070. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1161070F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0161070. PMC 5014348. PMID 27603205.

[ZhengWiens2016-7] Zheng, Y; Wiens, JJ (2016). "Combining phylogenomic and supermatrix approaches, and a time-calibrated phylogeny for squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) based on 52 genes and 4162 species" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 94 (Pt B): 537–547. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.009. PMID 26475614.

[8] Scanlon, J. D.; Lee, M. S. Y. (2011). Aldridge, R. D.; Sever, D. M. (eds.). The Major Clades of Living Snakes: Morphological Evolution, Molecular Phylogeny, and Divergence Dates in Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Snakes. Enfield, NH: Science Publishers. pp. 55–95.

[Vidal07-9] Vidal, N.; Delmas, A. S.; Hedges, S. B. (2007). Henderson, R. W.; Powell, R. (eds.). The higher-level relationships of alethinophidian snakes inferred from seven nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Eagle Mountain, Utah, USA: Eagle Mountain Publishing. pp. 27–33.

[10] Vitt, L. J.; Caldwell, J. P. (2014). Herpetology: an introductory biology of amphibians and reptiles (4th ed.). Burlington: Academic Press. pp. 108–109.

[TRD-11] Uetz, Peter. "Serpentes at The Reptile Database". The Reptile Database. EMBL. Retrieved 14 May 2018.

[12] Bailly, Anatole (1981-01-01). Abrégé du dictionnaire grec français. Paris: Hachette. ISBN 978-2010035289. OCLC 461974285.

[13] Bailly, Anatole. "Greek-french dictionary online". www.tabularium.be. Retrieved January 7, 2019.

[14] Hsiang, Allison Y.; Field, Daniel J.; Webster, Timothy H.; Behlke, Adam DB; Davis, Matthew B.; Racicot, Rachel A.; Gauthier, Jacques A. (2015-05-20). "The origin of snakes: revealing the ecology, behavior, and evolutionary history of early snakes using genomics, phenomics, and the fossil record". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15 (1): 87. Bibcode:2015BMCEE..15...87H. doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0358-5. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 4438441. PMID 25989795.

[15] "Search results | The Reptile Database". reptile-database.reptarium.cz. Retrieved 2022-07-21.

[16] Gower, David J.; Zaher, Hussam (2022-08-11). The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes. Cambridge University Press. p. 58. doi:10.1017/9781108938891.027.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]