NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Flat-snouted Wolf Snake
Lycophidion depressirostre Laurent, 1968
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.
A black snake lies coiled in the rust-colored sand of Voi, Kenya. Its head rests atop the coils, and you can see that it is quite flat.
Robin James · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Lycophidion depressirostre, commonly known as the flat-snouted wolf snake, is a rare species of oviparous, nonvenomous snake in the family Lamprophiidae. It is found in southern Sudan, the Central African Republic, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Southern Ethiopia.
Wikipedia contributors, Lycophidion depressirostre; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:30:06.973241+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lycophidion depressirostre Laurent, 1968
- Name authority
- Laurent, 1968
- Common name
- Flat-snouted Wolf Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Lamprophiidae
- Genus
- Lycophidion
- 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
- familyLamprophiidae
- genusLycophidion
- speciesLycophidion depressirostre Laurent, 1968
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lycophidion. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Wolf SnakeLycophidion capense (Smith, 1831) | LamprophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Flat Wolf SnakeLycophidion laterale Hallowell, 1857 | LamprophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pygmy Wolf SnakeLycophidion pygmaeum Broadley, 1996 | LamprophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lycophidion semicinctum Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | LamprophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Taylor’s wolf snakeLycophidion taylori Broadley & Hughes, 1993 | LamprophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Red-snouted Wolf SnakeLycophidion uzungwense Loveridge, 1932 | LamprophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eastern Wolf SnakeLycophidion semiannule Peters, 1854 | LamprophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Western Jackson's Wolf Snake [occidentale]Lycophidion jacksoni Boulenger, 1893 | LamprophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lycophidion chirioi Trape, 2021 | LamprophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mozambique Wolf SnakeLycophidion acutirostre Günther, 1868 | LamprophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lycophidion albomaculatum Steindachner, 1870 | LamprophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Leach's Wolf SnakeLycophidion irroratum (Leach, 1819) | LamprophiidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Lycophidion jacksoni Boulenger, 1893 Boulenger, 1893 | 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=Lycophidion&species=depressirostre 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.
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:3WLQ6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.