Xenopholis is a genus of rear-fanged snakes of the family Colubridae.
Geographic range The genus Xenopholis is endemic to South America.Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Genus Xenopholis, p. 113).
Description The genus Xenopholis is characterized by distinctive vertebrae. The spinous processes are expanded dorsally, forming shields which are rugose and divided by a median groove.Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Genus Xenopholis, p. 231, Figure 16, three views of vertebrae).
Species Three species are recognized as being valid. Xenopholis scalaris (Wucherer, 1861) - Wucherer's ground snake Xenopholis undulatus (Jensen, 1900) - Jensen's ground snake Xenopholis werdingorum Jansen, L. Álvarez & Köhler, 2009
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Xenopholis.
References
Further reading Peters W (1869). "Über neue Gattungen und neue oder weniger bekannte Arten von Amphibien ( ... Xenopholis ... ) ". Monatsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1869: 432–447. (Xenopholis, new genus, p. 440). (in German).