Phyllorhynchus

Phyllorhynchus is a genus of snakes in the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to the southwestern United States and adjacent northwestern Mexico[1]

Phyllorhynchus
Phyllorhychus browni
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Phyllorhynchus
Stejneger, 1890

Species

The genus Phyllorhynchus contains two species which are recognized as being valid.[1]

  • Phyllorhynchus browni Stejneger, 1890
  • Phyllorhynchus decurtatus (Cope, 1868)

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Phyllorhynchus.

Etymology

The specific name, browni, is in honor of Herbert Brown (1848–1913),[2] who collected the holotype.[3]

Description

Snakes of the genus Phyllorhynchus are heavy-bodied, but small, 6 to 20 in (15 to 51 cm) in total length, which includes a short tail. The snout is short and shovel-like. The rostral scale is enlarged and has free lateral edges.[4]

References
  1. Genus Phyllorhynchus at The Reptile Database.
  2. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Phyllorhynchus browni, p. 40).
  3. Stejneger, 1890.
  4. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes). (Genus Phyllorhynchus, p. 69, Figure 19, h-j; p. 569, map 45).

Further reading
  • Cope ED (1868). "Sixth Contribution to the Herpetology of Tropical America". Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 20: 305-313. (Phimothyra decurtata, new species, pp. 310–311).
  • Stejneger L (1890). "On a new genus and species of Colubrine snakes from North America". Proc. United States Nat. Mus. 13: 151-155. (Phyllorhynchus, new genus, p. 151; P. browni, new species, pp. 152–153).


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