Madagascarophis

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
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: Colubroidea

Familia: Colubridae
Subfamilia: Lamprophiinae
Genus: Madagascarophis
Species: M. citrinus – M. colubrinus – M. fuchsi – M. meridionalis – M. ocellatus
Name

Madagascarophis Mertens, 1952

References

Glaw, F., Kucharzewski, C., Köhler, J., Vences, M. & Nagy, Z.T. 2013. Resolving an enigma by integrative taxonomy: Madagascarophis fuchsi (Serpentes: Lamprophiidae), a new opisthoglyphous and microendemic snake from northern Madagascar. Zootaxa 3630(2): 317–332. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3630.2.7 Reference page.

Vernacular names
English: Madagascan Cat-eyed Snakes

Madagascarophis is a genus of small, mildly venomous snakes native to the island of Madagascar. They are commonly referred to as Malagasy cat-eyed snakes. Five species are in the genus.

Species

Madagascarophis colubrinus
Madagascarophis colubrinus citrinus (Boettger, 1877)
Madagascarophis colubrinus colubrinus (Schlegel, 1837)
Madagascarophis colubrinus insularis Domergue, 1987
Madagascarophis. colubrinus occidentalis Domergue, 1987
Madagascarophis colubrinus pastoriensis Domergue, 1987
Madagascarophis colubrinus septentrionalis Domergue, 1987
Madagascarophis fuchsi Glaw, Kucharzewski, Köhler, Vences & Nagy, 2013
Madagascarophis lolo Ruane, Burbrink, Randriamahatantsoa, & Raxworthy, 2016
Madagascarophis meridionalis Domergue, 1987
Madagascarophis ocellatus Domergue, 1987

Description

Madagascarophis species are small snakes, rarely exceeding 100 cm in adult size. They are highly variable in color, greys, browns, yellows, greens, and oranges with darker colored blotches. They have large eyes with vertical pupils.
Behavior

Malagasy cat-eyed snakes are found in a wide variety of habitats throughout the island of Madagascar, from montane regions to rain forest. Primarily nocturnal and terrestrial, they are capable of climbing and are strong swimmers. They feed on a variety of prey, including chameleons and rodents. Their venom is mild and often not powerful enough to subdue their chosen prey items, so they also employ constriction as necessary.
In captivity

Madagascarophis colubrinus and M. ocellatus are frequently imported for the exotic pet trade, and for educational research. The Ophidian Research Colony of the University of Texas at Tyler is known to keep a breeding group of M. colubrinus. The eggs take 83 days to hatch as young snakes at 27 °C.
References

Genus Madagascarophis at The Reptile Database