Ptyas
Appearance
Ptyas | |
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Ptyas mucosa | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Subfamily: | Colubrinae |
Genus: | Ptyas Fitzinger, 1843 |
Species | |
13, see text | |
Synonyms | |
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Ptyas is a genus of colubrid snakes.[1] This genus is one of several colubrid genera colloquially called "rat snakes" or "ratsnakes".
The generic name derives from Ancient Greek πτυάς, meaning "spitter", which referred to a kind of snake believed to spit venom in the eyes of humans, although in reality none of the Ptyas are known to spit venom.[2][3]
Species
[edit]13 species are recognized:[1]
- Ptyas carinata (Günther, 1858) – keeled rat snake
- Ptyas dhumnades (Cantor, 1842) – Cantor's rat snake[4][5]
- Ptyas dipsas (Schlegel, 1837) – Sulawesi black racer
- Ptyas doriae Boulenger, 1888 – Doria's green snake
- Ptyas fusca (Günther, 1858) – white-bellied rat snake, brown rat snake
- Ptyas herminae (Boettger, 1895) – Sakishima green snake
- Ptyas korros (Schlegel, 1837) – Chinese ratsnake, Indo-Chinese ratsnake
- Ptyas luzonensis (Günther, 1873) – smooth-scaled mountain rat snake
- Ptyas major (Günther, 1858) – Chinese green snake
- Ptyas mucosa (Linnaeus, 1758) – Oriental rat snake, Indian rat snake
- Ptyas multicincta (Roux, 1907) – many-banded green snake, North China green snake
- Ptyas nigromarginata (Blyth, 1854) – green rat snake, black-bordered rat snake
- Ptyas semicarinata (Hallowell, 1861) – Ryukyu green snake
References
[edit]- ^ a b Ptyas at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 March 2021.
- ^ "Ptyas dhumnades - Big-eyed Ratsnake".
- ^ "πτυάς". Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias.
- ^ David, P.; Vogel, G. (1996). The Snakes of Sumatra: An Annotated Checklist and Key with Natural History Notes. Edition Chimaira. Ed. Chimaira. p. 104. ISBN 978-3-930612-08-6. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
Coluber dhumnades Cantor, 1842 by original designation. Was synonymised with Ptyas by Wall (1923b) and Taylor (1965).
- ^ Beolens, B.; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-4214-0227-7. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
Further reading
[edit]- Fitzinger, L. 1843. Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Braumüller & Seidel. Vienna. 106 pp. + indices. (Ptyas, p. 26.)