NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Formosa Kukri Snake
Oligodon formosanus (Günther, 1872)
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
Oligodon formosanus, also known as the Formosa kukri snake or beautiful kukri snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae.
The species epithet is named after its range in Taiwan (Formosa).
Formosa kukri snakes eat the eggs of Chinese box turtles.
Wikipedia contributors, Oligodon formosanus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:20:06.951262+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Oligodon formosanus (Günther, 1872)
- Name authority
- (Günther, 1872)
- Common name
- Formosa Kukri Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Oligodon
- 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
- subfamilyColubrinae
- genusOligodon
- speciesOligodon formosanus (Günther, 1872)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Oligodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Ringed Kukri SnakeOligodon annulifer (Boulenger, 1893) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Barron's Kukri SnakeOligodon barroni (Smith, 1916) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oligodon booliati Leong & Grismer, 2004 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Shorthead Kukri SnakeOligodon brevicauda Günther, 1862 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Assam Kukri SnakeOligodon catenatus (Blyth, 1855) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cantor's Kukri SnakeOligodon cyclurus (Cantor, 1839) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eberhardt’s Kukri SnakeOligodon eberhardti Pellegrin, 1910 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nagarkot Kukri SnakeOligodon erythrogaster Boulenger, 1907 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Namsang Kukri SnakeOligodon erythrorhachis Wall, 1910 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hampton's Kukri SnakeOligodon hamptoni Boulenger, 1918 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Inornate Kukri SnakeOligodon inornatus (Boulenger, 1914) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oligodon jintakunei Pauwels, Wallach, David & Chanhome, 2002 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Holarchus nesiotis Barbour, 1908 Barbour, 1908 | synonym |
| Simotes hainanensis Boettger, 1894 Boettger, 1894 | synonym |
| Holarchus formosanus brunnea Mell, 1930 Mell, 1930 | synonym |
| Holarchus formosanus violaceoides Mell, 1930 Mell, 1930 | synonym |
| Simotes bicatenatus Müller, 1878 Müller, 1878 | ambiguous synonym |
| Simotes formosanus Günther, 1872 Günther, 1872 | 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=Oligodon&species=formosanus 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:4962D. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.