Rhabdophis is a genus of in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. Species in the genus Rhabdophis are generally called keelback snakes, and are found primarily in Southeast Asia. The best-known species is Rhabdophis tigrinus; few other species have been studied in detail.
Toxicity
Colubrid snakes are often thought of as completely harmless, but there are a handful of notable exceptions, including some species of
Rhabdophis. Bites from both
Rhabdophis tigrinus and
Rhabdophis subminiatus have caused cases of severe envenomation.
There are several reports of fatal bites from
R. tigrinus.
Between 1971 and 2020, 5 of 43
R. tigrinus bites in Japan were fatal,
all of which occurred in cases not treated with antivenom. Antivenom is manufactured by the Japan Snake Institute
and is an effective treatment for
R. tigrinus bites,
but is an unapproved drug. The venom is highly
Bleeding.
While the term "poisonous snake" is often incorrectly used for a wide variety of , some species of Rhabdophis are in fact poisonous as well as venomous. Many species of Rhabdophis have specialized nuchal glands on the back of the neck
Recent taxonomic changes
In 2018,
Balanophis ceylonensis and three of the four species in the genus
Macropisthodon were reassigned to
Rhabdophis on the basis of three genes indicating a common ancestor for all species possessing nuchal glands.
At least two species,
“R”. conspicillatus and
“R”. chrysargos, are more distantly related and might be assigned to other genera in the future. The same analysis suggested that
Rhabdophis might contain several undescribed species.
Species
These
species are recognized as being valid:
[. www.reptile-database.org.]
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Rhabdophis adleri
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Rhabdophis akraios – Singalang keelback
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Rhabdophis angeli – Angel's keelback
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Rhabdophis auriculatus – white-lined water snake
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Rhabdophis barbouri – Thomas Barbour water snake
[; ; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ( Rhabdophis barbouri, p. 16; R. swinhonis, p. 258).]
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Rhabdophis bindi – Bindee keelback
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Rhabdophis callichroma – Bavi keelback
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Rhabdophis callistus – Boettger's keelback
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Rhabdophis ceylonensis – Sri Lanka blossom krait, Sri Lanka keelback
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Rhabdophis chiwen – Chiwen keelback
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Rhabdophis chrysargoides – Javanese keelback, Günther's keelback
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Rhabdophis chrysargos – specklebelly keelback
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Rhabdophis confusus
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Rhabdophis conspicillatus – red-bellied keelback
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Rhabdophis flaviceps – orangeneck keelback, orange-lipped keelback, yellow-headed keelback
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Rhabdophis guangdongensis – Guangdong keelback
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Rhabdophis helleri – Heller’s red-necked keelback
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Rhabdophis himalayanus – orange-collared keelback
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Rhabdophis hmongorum – H’mong keelback snake
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Rhabdophis leonardi – Burmese keelback, Leonard's keelback
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Rhabdophis lineatus – zigzag-lined water snake
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Rhabdophis murudensis – Muruden keelback, Gunung Murud keelback
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Rhabdophis nigrocinctus – black-striped keelback
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Rhabdophis nuchalis – Hubei keelback
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Rhabdophis pentasupralabialis
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Rhabdophis plumbicolor – green keelback, lead keelback
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Rhabdophis rhodomelas – blueneck keelback, blue-necked keelback
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Rhabdophis siamensis
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Rhabdophis subminiatus – red-necked keelback
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Rhabdophis swinhonis – Robert Swinhoe grass snake
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Rhabdophis tigrinus – tiger grooved-neck keelback, tiger keelback, Japanese grass snake, yamakagashi
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Rhabdophis.
External links
Further reading
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Fitzinger L (1843). Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. ( Rhabdophis, new genus, p. 27). (in Latin).
