Colubrine snakes are distributed worldwide, with the highest diversity in North America, Asia, northern Africa, and the Middle East. There are relatively few species of colubrine snakes in Europe, South America, Australia, and southern Africa, and none in Madagascar, the Caribbean, or the Pacific Islands.[2][3][4]
Within Colubrinae, genera and species seem to make up five distinct radiations[8] that are to varying degrees broadly similar in terms of ecology and geographic distribution, although increased sampling is needed to determine whether all species currently placed in Colubrinae fit into one of these groups. These correspond roughly to the historically recognized tribe names Sonorini, Colubrini, Boigini/Lycodontini, Dispholidini, and Lampropeltini.
Coluber is the type genus of both Colubrinae and Colubridae and the basis for the name Colubroidea, and it is one of only three snake genera named by Carl Linnaeus still in use for a snake today.[9][10]
A group of 4 genera historically placed in Colubrinae have recently been called a separate subfamily, Ahaetuliinae, in a few analyses. These are Ahaetulla Link, 1807, Chrysopelea Boie, 1827, Dendrelaphis Boulenger, 1890, and Dryophiops Boulenger, 1896.[7]
Wallach, V. W.; Williams, K. L.; Boundy, J. (2014). Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. Boca Raton, Florida, USA: CRC Press.
Pough, F. H.; Andrews, R. M.; Crump, M. L.; Savitzky, A. H.; Wells, K. D.; Brandley, M. C. (2016). Herpetology (4thed.). Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA: Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Fry, B. G.; Casewell, N. R.; Wüster, W.; Vidal, N.; Young, B.; Jackson, T. N. (2012). "The structural and functional diversification of the Toxicofera reptile venom system". Toxicon. 60 (4): 434–448. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2012.02.013. PMID22446061.
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