Philodryas is a genus of colubrid snakes endemic to South America, commonly called green snakes.
Description Species in the genus Philodryas share the following characters:
Head distinct from neck, with distinct canthus rostralis. Eye moderate or large. Pupil round. Body cylindrical or slightly laterally compressed. Tail long.
Dorsal scales arranged in 17 to 23 rows at midbody, more or less obliquely. Subcaudals divided (in two rows).
Maxillary teeth smallest anteriorly, 12–15, followed after a gap by two large grooved fangs located just behind the posterior border of the eye.
Venom Although colubrid snakes are usually harmless to humans, Philodryas are opisthoglyphous (rear-fanged) snakesBoulenger 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). xxiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Genus Philodryas, p. 127). and can give a venomous bite.
Species and geographic ranges There are 16 recognized species. www.reptile-database.org.
Philodryas aestiva – N Argentina, Bolivia, SE Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay - Brazilian green racer, common green racer Philodryas agassizii – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay - burrowing night snake Philodryas arnaldoi – Brazil - Arnaldo's green race Philodryas baroni – N Argentina - Baron's green racer Philodryas boliviana Boulenger, 1896 – Bolivia - Bolivian racer Philodryas chamissonis (Wiegmann, 1834) – Chile - Chilean green racer, Chilean long-tailed snake Philodryas cordata – Venezuela Philodryas erlandi Lönnberg, 1902 – Paraguay, southeastern Bolivia, northern Argentina - Miranda green racer
Philodryas livida – Brazil Philodryas mattogrossensis – Bolivia, SW Brazil, Paraguay - Miranda green racer Philodryas nattereri – WC Brazil, Paraguay - Paraguay green racer Philodryas olfersii – Argentina, Bolivia, W Brazil, Paraguay, E Peru, Uruguay - Lichtenstein's green racer Philodryas patagoniensis – Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay - Patagonia green racer Philodryas psammophidea – Argentina, W & S Brazil - Günther's green racer Philodryas trilineata – Argentina Philodryas varia – Argentina, Bolivia - Jan's green racer
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Philodryas.
References
Further reading
Wagler JG (1830). Natürliches System der Amphibien, mit vorangehender Classification des Säugthiere und Vögel. Ein Beitrag zur vergleichenden Zoologie. Munich, Stuttgart, and Tübingen: J.G. Cotta. vi + 354 pp. (Philodryas, new genus, p. 185). (in German and Latin). https://serpientesdevenezuela.org/philodryas-viridissima/