NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Olive Keelback
Helicops modestus Günther, 1861
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Helicops modestus, the olive keelback, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. It is endemic to Brazil, and can be found in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, and the Federal District of Brasília.
Wikipedia contributors, Helicops modestus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:09:14.006531+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Helicops modestus Günther, 1861
- Name authority
- Günther, 1861
- Common name
- Olive Keelback
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Helicops
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyColubridae
- subfamilyDipsadinae
- genusHelicops
- speciesHelicops modestus Günther, 1861
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Helicops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Brown-banded watersnakeHelicops angulatus (Linnaeus, 1758) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Helicops apiaka Kawashita-Ribeiro, Ávila & Morais, 2013 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Daniel's KeelbackHelicops danieli Amaral, 1938 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sao Paulo KeelbackHelicops gomesi Amaral, 1922 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ladder Keelback (Hoge's Keelback)Helicops scalaris Jan, 1865 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Peru KeelbackHelicops yacu Rossman & Dixon, 1975 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Spiral KeelbackHelicops petersi Rossman, 1976 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Helicops nentur Costa, Santana, Leal, Koroiva & Garcia, 2016 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Helicops boitata Moraes-Da-Silva, Cecília Amaro & Sales-Nunes | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Helicops phantasma Moraes-Da-Silva, Cecília Amaro, Sales-Nunes, Rodrigues & Curcio, 2021 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Helicops acangussu Moraes-Da-Silva, Walterman, Citeli, Sales-Nunes & Curcio, 2022 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Wied's KeelbackHelicops carinicaudus (Wied-Neuwied, 1824) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Helicops assimilis Reinhardt, 1866 Reinhardt, 1866 | synonym |
| Tachyplotus hedemanni Reinhardt, 1866 Reinhardt, 1866 | ambiguous synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Helicops&species=modestus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3K96C. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.