Ocellated Brown Snake

Open encyclopedia reference

Xenelaphis ellipsifer, the ornate brown snake, or ocellated brown snake, is a large species of snake, up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) long, which is found in Malaysia and Indonesia. It has a rounded snout, its head is distinct from its neck, and it has protruding large round eyes. The top of the snake (the dorsum) is orange-red in color, and along the sides of its body are large black-edged squarish brown blotches separated by cream colored spaces. It has a yellow upper lip. X. ellipsifer is an aquatic species, found in forests at 800–1,000 m (2,600–3,300 ft) above sea level. The first description of this snake was published in 1900 by George Albert Boulenger, who found a single specimen in a fish trap above the Sarawak River in Malaysia. This snake became the type specimen of the species, and is held at the British Museum in London.

Wikipedia contributors, Xenelaphis ellipsifer; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:33:29.619878+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Xenelaphis ellipsifer Boulenger, 1900

Name authority

Boulenger, 1900

Common name

Ocellated Brown Snake

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Colubridae

Genus

Xenelaphis

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. subfamilyColubrinae
14. genusXenelaphis
15. speciesXenelaphis ellipsifer Boulenger, 1900

Close classified relatives

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

Browse 1,632 records assigned to Colubridae.

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.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Xenelaphis&species=ellipsifer 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:5C94P. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.