Etymology of Ratsnake Names
Etymology of Ratsnake Names
Written by Sue Knight
Scientific names are often descriptive, whether it be a characteristic of the species or their origin, I've found it both fun & educational breaking apart scientific names to find how the common name came into use. Names that end in an 'i' are those named after a person eg: Elaphe schrencki after the Russian Naturalist Leopold von Schrenck. names ending in 'ensis' are those named after their country of origin eg: Orthriophis taeniurus yunnanensis which inhabits Yunnan in China.
One thing that has always puzzled me was why the Rein Snake got it's common name. A little research into their scientific name, and the mystery was solved. frenatum is greek for bridle, the head gear that horses wear, which includes the reins. presumabley they were given this name because of their head pattern. This got me interested in to the meanings behind other scientific names of Ratsnakes and below is a table I've compiled into the meanings of them as I've interpreted them.
| | ORIGIN & MEANING |
|---|---|
| Bogertophis | Bogert - Named in honor of Charles M Bogert (1908-1992). Greek: ophis ... Snake |
| subocularis | Latin: sub ... under, below, next to Latin: ocularis ... of the eye |
| Coelognathus | Latin: koilos ... Hollow Greek: gnath ... Jaw |
| flavolineatus | Latin: flavius ... Yellow Latin: lineatus ... Lined |
| helena | Named after the Greek god Helen |
| h.monticollaris | Latin: mont ... mountain Latin: collare ... necklace, band for the neck |
| radiatus | Latin: radiatus ... with rays |
| subradiatus | Latin: sub ... under, below, next to Latin: radiatus ... with rays |
| s. enganensis | Named after Engano Island where it occurs. Latin: ensis .. from |
| Elaphe | Greek: elaphos ... Deer |
| anomala | Greek: anomalos ... uneven, irregular |
| bella | Latin: bella ... Beautiful |
| bimaculata | Latin: bi ... Two Latin: maculatus ... spotted |
| carinata | Latin: carina ... Keel |
| c. yonaguniensis | Named after Yongagunijima, where it occurs |
| c. deqenensis | Named after Deqen County in the Yunnan Province where it occurs. |
| climacophora | Latin: klimakter ... rung of a ladder Latin: phoreus ... bearer |
| dione | Named after "Dione" the mother of Aphrodite in Greek mythology |
| erythrurus | Greek: erythros ... Red Greek: urus ... Tail |
| e. phillippina | Named after the country, Phillipines, where it occurs |
| e.celebensis | Named after Celebes where it occurs Latin: ensis ... from |
| e. manillensis | Named after the city Manila, where it occurs Latin: ensis ... from |
| sauromates | Hellenic: sauromates ... lizard eye ? |
| quatuorlineata | Latin: quatuor ... four times Latin: lineatus ... Lined |
| schrencki | Named after Leopold von Schrenck (1826-1894), Russian Naturalist |
| quadrivirgata | Latin: quatri ... four Latin: virgata ... twig, sprout, stalk |
| Euprepiophis | Greek: Euprepeia ... beauty, grace Greek: ophis ... Snake |
| conspicillatus | Latin: conspicillata ... a pair of spectacles |
| mandarinus | |
| perlaceus | Latin: perla ... a pearl Latin: acea ... suffix meaning belonging to, of the nature of |
| Gonyosoma | Greek: Gony ... bend, angle Greek: soma ... body |
| janseni | Named after A. J. F. Jansen. |
| oxycephala | Latin: oxys ... Sharp Latin: kephale ... Head |
| prasinus | Greek: prasios ... Green |
| frenatus | frenatus ... with bridle |
| Oocatochus | Greek: oon ... egg Greek: Katecho... hold fast |
| rufodorsatus | Latin: rufus ... Red Latin: dorsalis ...Of the back |
| Oreocryptophis | Greek: oreo ... Mountain Greek: kryptos ... hidden or secretive Greek: ophis ... Snake |
| porphyraceus | Greek: porphyra ... Purple, Red acea ... suffix denoting orders and classes in zoology, belonging to, of the nature of |
|
p.coxi |
Named after Merel J. Cox |
|
p.kawakamii |
Named after the Japanese botanists Takiya Kawakami |
|
p.laticincta |
Latin: latus ... Wide / Broad Latin: cincta ... Banded |
|
p.nigrofasciata |
Latin: niger ... Black Latin: fasciata ... Banded |
|
p.pulchra |
Latin: pulcher ... Beautiful |
|
p.vaillanti |
Latin: valoir ... valid, effective Latin: anti ... opposite |
| Orthriophis | Greek: Orthrios ... early ... rising at the first dawn or very early in the morning Greek: ophis ... Snake |
| cantoris | Named after Theodore Edward Cantor |
| moellendorffi | Named after the German marine zoologist Otto Franz Moellendorff (1848–1903) |
| hodgsoni | Named after Hodgson |
| taeniurus | Latin, taenia meaning stripe Greek, oura meaning tail |
|
t.friesi |
|
|
t.grabowskyi |
|
|
t.mocquardi |
Named in honor of F. Mocquard |
|
t.ridleyi |
|
|
t.schmackeri |
|
|
t.yunnanensis |
Yunnan Province China ensis .. from |
| Pantherophis | Greek: derived from the word 'pan' meaning a loaf of bread (refers to the cross section shape of the snake Greek: thero meaning a wild beast of summer Greek: ophis ... Snake |
| bairdi | Named after Spencer Fullerton Baird |
| emoryi | Named after William Hemsley Emory |
|
e.meahllmorum |
"m " Dr. Michael J. Preston, Department of English "e " Mary E. Marcotte, EPOB (Department of Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology) secretary "a " Ann E. Carrington, do. "h " Laura J. Heigl, do. "l " Linda K. Bowden, do. "l " Dr. William M Lewis, Chairman, EPOB "m " Dr. Michael D. Breed, EPOB, former Chairman "o " Phyllis A. O'Connell, EPOB secretary "r " Dean Charles R. Middleton, College of Arts and Sciences "u " Dr. Shi-Kuei Wu, Curator of Zoology, University of Colorado Museum "m " Dr. Michael C. Grant, EPOB, former Chairman." |
| guttatus | Latin: guttatus ... spotted |
| obsoletus | Latin: obsoletus ... Faded, Dim. |
|
o.quadrivittata |
Latin: quadri ... Four Latin: vittata ... Striped |
|
o.lindheimeri |
Named after Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer |
| o.rossalleni | Named after E. Ross Allen |
| o.spiloides | Latin: oides ... from |
| slowinskii | Named after Joseph B. Slowinski |
| vulpinus | Latin: vulpinus ... Pertaining to a Fox ( Named after Rev. Charles Fox ) |
|
v.gloydi |
Named after Howard Kay Gloyd |
| Pseudelaphe | |
| flavirufa | Latin: flavius ... Yellow Latin: rufus ... Red |
|
f.pardalina |
Latin: pardus ... Leopard |
|
f.phaescens |
Latin: phaos ... Light Latin: escens ... suffix meaning beginning to, nearly |
|
f.polysticha |
Greek: poly ... Many Greek: stichos ... Row |
|
f.matudai |
|
| Rhinechis | Greek: rhinos ... Nose Greek: echis ... Viper |
| scalaris | Latin: scala ... A Ladder Latin: aris ... A suffix which means pertaining to. |
| Senticolis | Latin: collum ... Neck |
| triaspis | Latin: tres... three Greek: treis ... three Latin: aspis ... snake |
|
t.intermedia |
Latin: intermediatus ... lying between |
|
t.mutabilis |
Latin: mutabilis ... changeable |
| Zamenis | Greek: Very strong |
| hohenackeri | Named after Rudolf Friedrich Hohenacker (1798–1874) |
| h. taurica | Named after the mountain range where they occur |
| lineatus | Latin: lineatus ... Lined |
| longissimus | Latin: longissimus meaning longest |
| persicus | Persicus ... Persian |
| situla | Is a star in the star sign Aquarius and refers to the dorsal pattern of the blotched phase |
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