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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Ladder Keelback (Hoge's Keelback)

Helicops scalaris Jan, 1865

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.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Helicops scalaris Jan, 1865
Name authority
Jan, 1865
Common name
Ladder Keelback (Hoge's 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.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
  9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
  10. suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
  11. infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
  12. familyColubridae
  13. subfamilyDipsadinae
  14. genusHelicops
  15. speciesHelicops scalaris Jan, 1865

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Helicops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Brown-banded watersnakeHelicops angulatus (Linnaeus, 1758)ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Helicops apiaka Kawashita-Ribeiro, Ávila & Morais, 2013ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Daniel's KeelbackHelicops danieli Amaral, 1938ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Sao Paulo KeelbackHelicops gomesi Amaral, 1922ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Peru KeelbackHelicops yacu Rossman & Dixon, 1975ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Spiral KeelbackHelicops petersi Rossman, 1976ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Helicops nentur Costa, Santana, Leal, Koroiva & Garcia, 2016ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Helicops boitata Moraes-Da-Silva, Cecília Amaro & Sales-NunesColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Helicops phantasma Moraes-Da-Silva, Cecília Amaro, Sales-Nunes, Rodrigues & Curcio, 2021ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Helicops acangussu Moraes-Da-Silva, Walterman, Citeli, Sales-Nunes & Curcio, 2022ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Wied's KeelbackHelicops carinicaudus (Wied-Neuwied, 1824)ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Hagmann's KeelbackHelicops hagmanni Roux, 1910ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 1,632 records assigned to Colubridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Helicops hogei Lancini, 1964 Lancini, 1964synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Venezuela (Zulia), Colombia

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.

  1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Helicops&species=scalaris 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:3K96J. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.