Synopsis of the Snakes of the Philippines A Synthesis of Data from Biodiversity Repositories, Field Studies, and the Literature
Author
Leviton, Alan E.
Herpetology Division, Institute of Biodiversity Science & Sustainibility, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, California 94118 & Research Associate, Division of Amphibians & Reptiles, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
aleviton@calacademy.org
Author
Siler, Cameron D.
Department of Biology and Sam Noble Museum, University of Oklahoma, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, OK 73072 - 7029, USA & Zoology Division, National Museum of the Philippines, Rizal Park, Burgos Ave., Ermita 1000, Manila, Philippines.
camsiler@ou.edu
Author
Weinell, Jeffrey L.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045
jweine2@gmail.com
Author
Brown, Rafe M.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045 & Zoology Division, National Museum of the Philippines, Rizal Park, Burgos Ave., Ermita 1000, Manila, Philippines.
rafe@ku.edu
text
Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences
2018
Oxford, England
2018-03-29
64
14
399
568
http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11512589
journal article
299690
10.5281/zenodo.11512589
d7a23684-9222-422b-868a-6c8712a4fd05
0068-547X
11512589
Family
Lamprophiidae
Fitzinger, 1843
REMARKS
.— The placement of the genera
Oxyrhabdium
and
Psammodynastes
in the family
Lamprophiidae
has been and is the subject of considerable controversy (see
Lawson et al. [2005]
;
Vidal et al. [2007]
;
Pyron et al. [2011
,
2013
];
Figueroa et al. [2016]
). Indeed, as
Pyron et al. (2011:341)
observed, “We follow
Vidal et al. (2007)
in tentatively recognizing
Lamprophiidae
as a single family, including Aparallactinae, Atractaspidinae, Lamprophiinae, Psammophiinae, and Pseudoxyrophiinae.... [however] The genera
Buhoma
,
Oxyrhabdium
, and
Psammodynastes
cannot be placed confidently within the existing subfamilies of
Lamprophiidae
.” But even more recently, Weinell and Brown (2017) provided reasonably conclusive evidence for the placement of
Oxyrhabdium
along with
Cyclocorus
and
Hologerrhum
within the
Lamprophiidae
clade but as a distinct subfamily group. We do note that whereas
Myersophis
with
Oxyrhabdium
may be congeneric, in this account we treat them as distinct genera, pending further study. Lastly, we have not fully resolved the placement of
Psammodynastes
, which we believe is reasonably associated with the
Lamprophiidae
, but how it relates to recognized subfamilies with the family is still under investigation.