NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Pseudalsophis elegans (Tschudi, 1845)
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 South American Elegant Racer (Pseudalsophis elegans) being handled in La Libertad, Peru
Sebastián Sánchez Rodríguez · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Pseudalsophis elegans is a species of snake of the family Colubridae. Common names include South American elegant racer and Guayaquil racer. It is the only snake species of the genus Pseudalsophis not found in the Galapagos Islands.
Wikipedia contributors, Pseudalsophis elegans; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T14:47:48.916579+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pseudalsophis elegans (Tschudi, 1845)
- Name authority
- (Tschudi, 1845)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Pseudalsophis
- 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
- genusPseudalsophis
- speciesPseudalsophis elegans (Tschudi, 1845)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pseudalsophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Pseudalsophis dorsalis (Steindachner, 1876) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pseudalsophis occidentalis (Van Denburgh, 1912) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pseudalsophis darwini Zaher, Yánez-Muñoz, Rodrigues, Graboski, Machado, Altamirano-Benavides, Bonatto & Grazziotin, 2018 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pseudalsophis hephaestus Zaher, Yánez-Muñoz, Rodrigues, Graboski, Machado, Altamirano-Benavides, Bonatto & Grazziotin, 2018 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pseudalsophis thomasi Zaher, Yánez-Muñoz, Rodrigues, Graboski, Machado, Altamirano-Benavides, Bonatto & Grazziotin, 2018 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galapagos RacerPseudalsophis biserialis (Günther, 1860) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pseudalsophis hoodensis (Van Denburgh, 1912) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Banded Galapagos SnakePseudalsophis slevini (Van Denburgh, 1912) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Striped Galapagos SnakePseudalsophis steindachneri (Van Denburgh, 1912) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Dromicus rufodorsatus Günther, 1858 Günther, 1858 | synonym |
| Lygophis poecilostomus Cope, 1876 Cope, 1876 | synonym |
| Tachymenis elongata Despax, 1910 Despax, 1910 | synonym |
| Dryophylax freminvillei Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | synonym |
| Tachymenis surinamensis Dunn, 1922 Dunn, 1922 | synonym |
| Lygophis elegans Tschudi, 1845 Tschudi, 1845 | synonym |
| Tachymenis canilatus Cope, 1868 Cope, 1868 | synonym |
| Dryophylax vitellinus Cope, 1877 Cope, 1877 | 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=Pseudalsophis&species=elegans 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:4NJNG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.