Ahaetullinae
Ahaetuliinae
Subfamily of snakes
The Ahaetuliinae are a subfamily of the snake family Colubridae that was erected in 2016 and comprises five genera containing 63 species (Ahaetulla [17 species], Chrysopelea [5 species], Dendrelaphis [45 species], Dryophiops [2 species] and Proahaetulla [1 species]) that are more closely related to one another than to members of the subfamily Colubrinae. Previously placed within Colubrinae, Ahaetuliinae was strongly supported as the sister group to Colubrinae in a 2016 study by Figueroa et al.[1][2]
Ahaetuliine snakes are arboreal and have keeled ventral and subcaudal scales (laterally notched in some species), and enlarged posterior grooved fangs (lacking in some Dendrelaphis).[1] The name comes from the genus Ahaetulla, which gets its name from the Sri Lankan Sinhalese language words ahaetulla/ahata gulla/as gulla, meaning “eye plucker” or “eye picker”, because of the belief that they pluck out the eyes of humans, as first reported by the Portuguese traveler João Ribeiro in 1685.[3]
Ahaetuliinae are distributed from Pakistan, through India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh, throughout Southeast Asia into southeastern China, in the Philippines, the Malay Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, and northeastern Australia.[1] Most species are found in forests. Notable traits include gliding in Chrysopelea, jumping behavior in Dendrelaphis, and horizontal keyhole-shaped pupils in Ahaetulla.
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