Xenochrophis Explained

Xenochrophis is a genus of snakes in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to Asia. Some members have been moved to the genus Fowlea.

Etymology

The generic nomen Xenochrophis is presumably derived from the Greek xénos, meaning foreign, strange; chros, meaning color; and ophis, meaning snake. The generic nomen probably refers to the distinctive color pattern of this type species. The gender of this generic name is masculine.

Species of Xenochrophis

The following species are recognized as being valid.^[1]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Xenochrophis bellulus	Burmese keelback water snake, Burmese white-barred keelback	Myanmar
	Xenochrophis cerasogaster	painted keelback	Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India (Assam, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal:- Kolkata).
	Xenochrophis maculatus	spotted keelback	Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.
	Xenochrophis trianguligerus	triangle keelback	Brunei Darussalam, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, India (Nicobar Islands; Arunachal Pradesh (Deban - Changlang district)), Indonesia (Nias, Mentawai, Sumatra, Laos, Malaysia (Malaya and East Malaysia), Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
	Xenochrophis vittatus	banded keelback, striped keelback	Indonesia (Bangka, Java, Sumatra, We, Sulawesi) and Singapore

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Genus Xenochrophis, p. 191).
• Günther ACLG (1864). The Reptiles of British India. London: The Ray Society. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxvii + 452 pp. + Plates I-XXII. (Xenochrophis, new genus, p. 273).
• Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Genus Xenochrophis, p. 317).

External links

• Species list at Animal Diversity Web

Notes and References

1. . The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.