Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 2, 2026

Chamaelycus

Chamaelycus is a genus of snakes, commonly referred to as banded snakes, in the family Lamprophiidae. The genus is endemic to Central Africa.

Last revised
Jul 2, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
244 w
Citations
5
Source
Chamaelycus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Lamprophiidae
Subfamily: Lamprophiinae
Genus: Chamaelycus
Boulenger, 19191
Species

Three recognized species, see article.

Chamaelycus is a genus of snakes, commonly referred to as banded snakes, in the family Lamprophiidae. The genus is endemic to Central Africa.2

Species

The following three species are recognized as being valid.2

  • Chamaelycus christyi Boulenger, 1919 – Christy's banded snake
  • Chamaelycus fasciatus (Günther, 1858) – African banded snake
  • Chamaelycus parkeri (Angel, 1934) – Parker's banded snake

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Chamaelycus.

Taxonomy

The species formerly known as Chamaelycus werneri (Mocquard, 1902), is considered to be a synonym of C. fasciatus.3

Etymology

The specific names, christyi, parkeri, and werneri, are in honor of Drs. Cuthbert Christy, Hampton Wildman Parker, and Franz Werner, respectively.4

References

References

  1. "Chamaelycus ". Dahms Tierleben. www.dahmstierleben.de.
  2. Genus Chamaelycus at The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. Species Chamaelycus fasciatus at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
  4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Chamaelycus christyi, p. 54; C. parkeri, p. 200; C. werneri, p. 282).
Further reading

Further reading

  • Boulenger GA (1919). "Batraciens et reptiles recueillis par le Dr. C. Christy au Congo Belge dans les districts de Stanleyville, Haute-Uelé et Ituri en 1912-1914 ". Revue Zoologique Africaine, Bruxelles 7 (1): 1-29. ("Chamælycus", new genus, p. 22). (in French).