Snake Multiomic Database
Family Xenopeltidae is a small group of snakes contain only one genus including 2 species. Xenopeltids exclusively occur in Southeast Asia, from Burma through East Indies to the Philippines. They are named for iridescent glow reflected from their smooth, shiny scales. Blunt heads, cylindrical bodies, and short tails but large ventral scales are their characteristics. They are generally medium in size of ~0.80 m, but some are large to 1.3 m.
Xenopeltids are secretive snakes that inhibit in lowland rain forest, rice fields. They can also occupy areas 700 meters above sea level. They burrow in mud and may be semifossorial. The diet of these species is broad and includes frogs, lizards, and snakes. They are oviparous.
We estimated the emergence of Xenopeltids at ~55 Mya using fossil calibrations. Analysis support Boidaeis the sister group of Xenopeltidae.
