Reptiles Database

Order Squamata
Suborder Serpentes (Ophidia)
Infraorder Henophidia (Boidea)

Family Xenopeltidae (Sunbeam Snakes)


This family contains only two species, Xenopeltis unicolor and X. hainanensis.

Appearance: The dorsal scales are black or very dark brown and are highly iridescent (name!). The head scales consist of large plates similar to those of colubrids and the ventral scutes are only slightly reduced. Pelvic vestiges are absent.

Size: up to 1 m or slightly more.

Distribution: India and southern China to Borneo and Celebes.

Habitat: rain forest soil

Reproduction:

Behavior: burrowing, nocturnal

Relationships: Along with the Central American genus Loxocemus, Xenopeltis was placed in the subfamily Xenopeltinae of the Boidae Gray 1825 by Underwood (1976), Dowling (1975) and Dowling and Duellman (1978), and these latter authors also included the African genus Calabaria in this subfamily. McDowell (1987) regarded the genera Xenopeltis and Loxocemus as sufficiently distinct from all other snakes, and from each other, to warrant their lacing in their own families Xenopeltidae Bonaparte 1845, and Loxocemidae Cope 1861, within the superfamily Aniloidea Stejneger 1907 [after Pauwels et al.2000].

List of genera:

References:

Dowling,H.G. (1975)
The nearctic snake fauna. In: Dowling, H.G. (ed.) 1974 Yearbook of herpetology.
HISS Publications, New York, 191-202

Dowling,H.G. & Duellman,W.E. (1978)
Systematic herpetology, a synopsis of families and higher categories.
HISS Publications, New York, vii + 118 + viii pp.

Gruber, U. in:
Klemmer,K., Wermuth,H. & Hediger,H., eds. (1979-1993)
Grzimeks Tierleben, Bd. 6: Kriechtiere
Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, pp. 365-366
ISBN 3-423-05970-2

McDowell,S.B. (1987)
Systematics. In: Seigel,R.A., Collins, J.T. & Novak,S.S. (ed.) Snakes: ecology and evolutionary biology.
MacMillan, New York, pp. 3-50.

Pauwels,O.S.G. et al. (2000)
Dorsal scale microstructure of Xenopeltis unicolor (Serpentes, Xenopeltidae): description and position among the ophidian microdermatoglyphic patterns.
Dumerilia 4 (2): 99-111

Pough,F. H. (Editor), Robin M. Andrews, John E. Cadle, Mart Crump, Harvey F. Pough (1997)
Herpetology.
Prentice Hall

Underwood,G. (1976)
A systematic analysis of boid snakes. In: Bellaris, A. d' A. 7 Cox, C.B. (ed.), Morphology and biology of reptiles.
Academic Press, London, Linnean Soc. Symp. Ser. 3: 151-175