This is an overview of the suborder Serpentes, its two infraorders (subdivisions) and the families they contain. This is the group of reptiles commonly known as snakes.
Taxonomy There are two infraorders of living snakes: Alethinophidia and Scolecophidia. This separation is based primarily on morphological characteristics between family groups; however, more recently, the comparison of mitochondrial DNA has played its part.
As with most taxonomic classifications, there are many different interpretations of the evolutionary relationships. This had resulted in families being moved to different infraorders, the merging or splitting of infraorders and families. For instance, many sources classify Boidae and Pythonidae as the same family, or keep others, such as Elapidae and Hydrophiidae, separate for practical reasons despite their extremely close relationship.
Alethinophidia 15 familiesFamilyCommon namesExample SpeciesExample PhotoAcrochordidaeBonaparte, 1831File snakesArafura file snake (Acrochordus arafurae)AniliidaeStejneger, 1907Coral pipe snakesFalse coral snake (Anilius scytale) AnomochilidaeCundall, Wallach and Rossman, 1993Dwarf pipe snakesMount Kinabalu dwarf pipe snake, (Anomochilus monticola)AtractaspididaeGünther, 1858Mole vipersWestern purple-glossed snake (Amblyodipsas unicolor) BoidaeGray, 1825BoasAmazon tree boa (Corallus hortulanus)BolyeridaeHoffstetter, 1946Round island boasRound Island burrowing boa (Bolyeria multocarinata)ColubridaeOppel, 1811ColubridsGrass snake (Natrix natrix)CylindrophiidaeFitzinger, 1843Asian pipe snakesRed-tailed pipe snake (Cylindrophis ruffus) ElapidaeBoie, 1827Cobras, coral snakes, mambas, kraits, sea snakes, sea kraits, Australian elapidsKing cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)LoxocemidaeCope, 1861Mexican burrowing snakesMexican burrowing snake (Loxocemus bicolor)PythonidaeFitzinger, 1826PythonsIndian python (Python molurus)TropidophiidaeBrongersma, 1951Dwarf boasDusky dwarf boa (Tropidophis melanurus) UropeltidaeMüller, 1832Shield-tailed snakes, short-tailed snakesOcellated shield-tail (Uropeltis ocellatus)ViperidaeOppel, 1811Vipers, pitvipers, rattlesnakesEuropean asp (Vipera aspis) XenopeltidaeBonaparte, 1845Sunbeam snakesSunbeam snake (Xenopeltis unicolor)Scolecophidia 3 familiesFamilyCommon namesExample SpeciesExample PhotoAnomalepidaeTaylor, 1939Dawn blind snakesDawn blind snake (Liotyphlops beui)LeptotyphlopidaeStejneger, 1892Slender blind snakesTexas blind snake (Leptotyphlops dulcis)TyphlopidaeMerrem, 1820Blind snakesBlack blind snake (Typhlops reticulatus)
See also List of snakes—Overview of all snake families and genera. List of Lacertilia families, lizards. List of Anuran families, frogs.
References
Suborder Ophidia (Serpentes) - Snakes (phylogeny) at New Reptile Database. Accessed 4 August 2007.