Natricinae

Barred grass snake Natrix natrix helvetica, copyright Benny Trapp.

Belongs within: Colubridae.

The Natricinae, watersnakes, are a group of snakes characterised by the presence of hypapophyses on all dorsal vertebrae, and minutely spinose hemipenes bearing one or more enlarged basal hooks. Members of the subfamily commonly hunt around water, feeding on small aquatic vertebrates.

<==Natricinae
    |  i. s.: Palaeonatrix Szyndlar 1982 RB05
    |           |--P. lehmani (Rage & Roček 1983) [=Dolniceophis lehmani] RB05
    |           `--P. silesiaca Syndlar 1982 RB05
    |         Neonatrix Holman 1973 RB05
    |           |--N. europaea Rage & Holman 1984 RB05
    |           |--N. natricoides Augé & Rage 2000 RB05
    |           `--N. nova RB05
    |         Mionatrix G88
    |--+--Natriciteres olivacea VH02
    |  `--+--Rhabdophis subminiatus VH02
    |     `--Xenochrophis VH02
    |          |--X. flavipunctatus VH02
    |          `--X. trianguligerus VH02
    `--+--Sinonatrix annularis VH02
       |--Nerodia VH02
       |    |--N. harteri JP79
       |    |--N. rhombifera VK00
       |    |--N. sipedon BK03 [=Natrix sipedon FM80]
       |    |    |--N. s. sipedon BK03
       |    |    `--N. insularum BK03
       |    `--N. taxispilota VH02
       `--Natrix Laurenti 1768 VH02, RB05
            |--N. chrysarga D56
            |--N. fasciatus F15
            |--N. longivertebrata Szyndlar 1984 RB05
            |--N. merkurensis Ivanov 2002 RB05
            |--N. mlynarskii Rage 1988 B93
            |--N. natrix (Linnaeus 1758) VK00 [=Coluber natrix K08, Tropidonotus natrix M01]
            |    |--N. n. natrix M55a
            |    |--N. n. cetti M55a
            |    `--N. n. helvetica M55a
            |--N. piscator D56
            |--N. sansaniensis (Lartet 1851) [=Coluber sansaniensis, Pilemophis sansaniensis, Pylmophis sansaniensis] RB05
            |--N. septemvittata R56
            |--N. stolata CS77
            `--N. tesselata M55b [=N. tessellata (l. c.) M55b, Tropidonotus tessellatus K08]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B93] Benton, M. J. 1993. Reptilia. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 681–715. Chapman & Hall: London.

[BK03] Bittner, T. D., & R. B. King. 2003. Gene flow and melanism in garter snakes revisited: a comparison of molecular markers and island vs. coalescent models. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 79: 389–399.

[CS77] Cramp, S., & K. E. L. Simmons (eds) 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palaearctic vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

[D56] Dawes, B. 1956. The Trematoda with special reference to British and other European forms. University Press: Cambridge.

[F15] Fowler, H. W. 1915. Cold-blooded vertebrates from Florida, the West Indies, Costa Rica, and eastern Brazil. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 67 (2): 244–269.

[FM80] Futuyma, D. J., & G. C. Mayer. 1980. Non-allopatric speciation in animals. Systematic Zoology 29 (3): 254–271.

[G88] Gray, J. 1988. Evolution of the freshwater ecosystem: the fossil record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 62: 1–214.

[JP79] Jackson, J. F. & J. A. Pounds. 1979. Comments on assessing the dedifferentiating effect of gene flow. Systematic Zoology 28 (1): 78–85.

[K08] Korsós, Z. 2008. History of the herpetological collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 100: 37–93.

[M01] Méhely, L. 1901. Csúszómászók és kétéltűek [Reptilien und Amphibien]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 41–68. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[M55a] Mertens, R. 1955a. Die Amphibien und Reptilien der Insel Elba. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36: 287–296.

[M55b] Mertens, R. 1955b. Der Typus von Vipera lebetina schweizeri. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36: 297–299.

[RB05] Rage, J.-C., & S. Bailon. 2005. Amphibians and squamate reptiles from the late early Miocene (MN 4) of Béon 1 (Montréal-du-Gers, southwestern France). Geodiversitas 27 (3): 413–441.

[R56] Reed, C. F. 1956. The herpetofauna of Harford County, Maryland. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 46 (2): 58–60.

[VH02] Vidal, N., & S. B. Hedges. 2002. Higher-level relationships of caenophidian snakes inferred from four nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Comptes Rendus Biologies 325: 987–995.

[VK00] Vidal, N., S. G. Kindl, A. Wong & S. B. Hedges. 2000. Phylogenetic relationships of xenodontine snakes inferred from 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 14: 389–402.

Last updated: 29 January 2022.