NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Mayan Cat-eyed Snake
Leptodeira frenata (Cope, 1886)
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
Leptodeira frenata, also known commonly as the Mayan cat-eyed snake and the rainforest cat-eyed snake, is a species of mildly venomous snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, and there are three recognized subspecies.
Wikipedia contributors, Leptodeira frenata; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:56:55.233692+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Leptodeira frenata (Cope, 1886)
- Name authority
- (Cope, 1886)
- Common name
- Mayan Cat-eyed Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Leptodeira
- 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
- genusLeptodeira
- speciesLeptodeira frenata (Cope, 1886)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Leptodeira. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Aruban Cat-eyed SnakeLeptodeira bakeri Ruthven, 1936 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Western Cat-eyed SnakeLeptodeira punctata (Peters, 1866) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Leptodeira rhombifera Günther, 1872 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Leptodeira rubricata (Cope, 1893) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Leptodeira larcorum Schmidt & Walker, 1943 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Northern Cat-eyed SnakeLeptodeira ornata (Bocourt, 1884) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Banded Cat-eyed SnakeLeptodeira annulata (Linnaeus, 1758) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Southwestern Cat-eyed SnakeLeptodeira maculata (Hallowell, 1861) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black-banded Cat-eyed SnakeLeptodeira nigrofasciata Günther, 1868 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Sibon frenatum Cope, 1886 Cope, 1886 | synonym |
| Leptodeira yucatanensis malleisi Dunn & Stuart, 1935 Dunn & Stuart, 1935 | synonym |
| Leptodeira frenata yucatanensis (Cope, 1866) (Cope, 1866) | ambiguous synonym |
| Sibon annulatum yucatanensis Cope, 1887 Cope, 1887 | 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=Leptodeira&species=frenata 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:3TN9F. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.