Gonionotophis

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Elapoidea

Familia: Lamprophiidae
Genus: Gonionotophis
Species (3): G. brussauxi – G. grantii – G. klingi
Name

Gonionotophis Boulenger, 1893 [nomen substitutum]

Type species: Gonionotus brussauxi Mocquard, 1889, by original designation.

Synonyms

Gonionotus Mocquard, 1889 [preoccupied by Gonionotus Gray, 1846 and Gonionotus Marshall, 1868.
Type species: Gonionotus brussauxi Mocquard, 1889, by monotypy.

References
Additional references

Broadley, D.G.†, Tolley, K.A., Conradie, W., Wishart, S., Trape, J.-F., Burger, M., Kusamba, C., Zassi-Boulou, A.-G. & Greenbaum, E. 2018. A phylogeny and genus-level revision of the African file snakes Gonionotophis Boulenger (Squamata: Lamprophiidae). African Journal of Herpetology 67(1): 43–60. DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2018.1423578 Paywall Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Gonionotophis . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 14 February 2020.
Gonionotophis – Taxon details on Interim Register of Marine and Non-marine Genera (IRMNG).
Gonionotophis – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

Vernacular names
English: Lesser File Snakes

Gonionotophis is a genus of snakes, known commonly as African ground snakes and file snakes, in the family Lamprophiidae. The genus is endemic to Central Africa.
Contents

1 Species
2 Etymology
3 References
4 Further reading

Species

There are three recognized species in the genus:[2][3]

Gonionotophis brussauxi (Mocquard, 1889) – Brussaux's file snake, Mocquard's African ground snake
Gonionotophis grantii (Günther, 1863) – Grant's African ground snake, Grant's file snake, savanna lesser file snake
Gonionotophis klingi Matschie, 1893 – Kling's file snake, Matschie's African ground snake

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

The specific name, brussauxi, is in honour of French anthropologist Eugène Brussaux.[4]

The specific name, grantii, is in honor of British physician Robert Edmond Grant.[4]
References

"Gonionotophis ". Dahms Tierleben. www.dahmstierleben.de
Kelly CMR, Branch WR, Broadley DG, Barker NP, Villet MH (2010). "Molecular systematics of the African snake family Lamprophiidae Fitzinger, 1843 (Serpentes: Elapoidea), with particular focus on the genera Lamprophis Fitzinger 1843 and Mehelya Csiki 1903". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 58 (3): 415-426.doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.11.010
Genus Gonionotophis at The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Goniotophis brussauxi, p. 41; G. granti, p. 106; G. laurenti, p. 152).

Further reading

Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Gonionotophis, new genus, p. 323).
Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Genus Mehelya, p. 78).