# Henophidia > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Henophidia > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Henophidia.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henophidia > Source revision: 1314287391 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Group of snakes}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Henophidia | image = Python molure 13.JPG | image_caption = Burmese python, ''[Python bivittatus](/source/Python_bivittatus)'' | taxon = Henophidia | subdivision_ranks = Families }} '''Henophidia''' is a former [parvorder](/source/Taxonomic_rank) of the suborder Serpentes ([snake](/source/snake)s) that contains [boas](/source/boidae), [pythons](/source/Pythonidae) and numerous other less-well-known [snake](/source/snake)s.{{cite journal|last1=Reynolds|first1=RG|last2=Niemiller|first2=ML|last3=Revell|first3=LJ|title=Toward a Tree-of-Life for the boas and pythons: multilocus species-level phylogeny with unprecedented taxon sampling|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|date=2014|volume=71|pages=201–213|url=http://www.rgrahamreynolds.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Reynolds_etal_2014_MPE.pdf|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.011|access-date=2018-05-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151202212953/http://www.rgrahamreynolds.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Reynolds_etal_2014_MPE.pdf|archive-date=2015-12-02|url-status=dead|pmid=24315866|bibcode=2014MolPE..71..201G }} Snakes once considered to belong to superfamily Henophidia include two families now considered [Amerophidia](/source/Amerophidia) ([Aniliidae](/source/Aniliidae) – red pipe snakes, and [Tropidophiidae](/source/Tropidophiidae) – dwarf "boas" or thunder snakes), three families now considered [Uropeltoidea](/source/Uropeltoidea) ([Cylindrophiidae](/source/Cylindrophiidae) – Asian pipe snakes, [Anomochilidae](/source/Anomochilidae) – dwarf pipe snakes, and [Uropeltidae](/source/Uropeltidae) – shield-tailed snakes and short-tailed snakes), three families now considered [Pythonoidea](/source/Pythonoidea) ([Pythonidae](/source/Pythonidae) – pythons, [Loxocemidae](/source/Loxocemidae) – Mexican burrowing snake, and [Xenopeltidae](/source/Xenopeltidae) – sunbeam snakes), at least one family now considered [Booidea](/source/Booidea) ([Boidae](/source/Boidae) – boas [including [sand boa](/source/sand_boa)s and many other lineages often called boas, mostly now considered subfamilies of Boidae]), and [Bolyeriidae](/source/Bolyeriidae) – Round Island splitjaw snakes.{{cite book|last1=Scanlon|first1=J. D.|last2=Lee|first2=M. S. Y.|editor1-last=Aldridge|editor1-first=R. D.|editor2-last=Sever|editor2-first=D. M.|title=The Major Clades of Living Snakes: Morphological Evolution, Molecular Phylogeny, and Divergence Dates in Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Snakes|date=2011|publisher=Science Publishers|location=Enfield, NH|pages=55–95}}{{cite book|last1=Vitt|first1=L. J.|last2=Caldwell|first2=J. P.|title=Herpetology: an introductory biology of amphibians and reptiles|date=2014|publisher=Academic Press|location=Burlington|pages=108–109|edition=4th}}{{cite book|last1=Streicher|first1=J. W.|last2=Ruane|first2=S. |title=Encyclopedia of Life Sciences |chapter=Phylogenomics of Snakes |date=2018|doi=10.1002/9780470015902.a0027476|pages=1–8|isbn=9780470015902}} Because these snakes do not form a [monophyletic group](/source/monophyly) they can no longer be formally referred to using a single name{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}. In modern usage, "Henophidia" is often placed in quotes, because it can be convenient to refer to all lineages that used to be considered Henophidia. Another way of thinking about it is that "henophidian" snakes are all snakes that are not [Scolecophidia](/source/Scolecophidia) (blindsnakes) or [Caenophidia](/source/Caenophidia) (so-called "advanced snakes"). "Henophidian" snakes are sometimes said to be more ["basal"](/source/Basal_(phylogenetics)) or ["primitive"](/source/Primitive_(phylogenetics)) than those belonging to the [Caenophidia](/source/Caenophidia), but this does not mean that they are inferior or that they have evolved less, rather that we think they share more traits with their common ancestor in comparison to the Caenophidia. ==Etymology== ''Henophidia'' comes from the [Greek](/source/Greek_(language)) ''heno-'' meaning ''one''[https://wordinfo.info/unit/973/s:heno- ''heno-''] at [http://www.wordinfo.info wordinfo.info] or ''former'' and ''ophidia'' meaning ''serpent'',[https://wordinfo.info/unit/1485/s:-ophidia ''-ophidia''] at [http://www.wordinfo.info wordinfo.info] so ''former/older snakes'' (in contrast to [Caenophidia](/source/Caenophidia), i.e. ''recent snakes''). ==Former families== * [Aniliidae](/source/Aniliidae) – coral pipe snakes and pipe snakes. * [Anomochilidae](/source/Anomochilidae) – dwarf pipe snakes. * [Boidae](/source/Boidae) – boas (including sand boas) * [Bolyeriidae](/source/Bolyeriidae) – Round Island boas. * [Cylindrophiidae](/source/Cylindrophiidae) – Asian pipe snakes. * [Loxocemidae](/source/Loxocemidae) – Mexican burrowing snake. * [Pythonidae](/source/Pythonidae) – pythons * [Tropidophiidae](/source/Tropidophiidae) – dwarf boas. * [Uropeltidae](/source/Uropeltidae) – shield-tailed snakes and short-tail snakes. * [Xenopeltidae](/source/Xenopeltidae) – sunbeam snakes. ==References== {{Wikispecies|Henophidia}} {{Reflist}} {{Snake families}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q2142829}} Category:Alethinophidia {{snake-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Henophidia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henophidia) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henophidia?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.