NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Slender Quill-snouted Snake
Xenocalamus bicolor Günther, 1868
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.
Xenocalamus bicolor (Slender Quill-snouted Snake) by Ryan van Huyssteen
Ryan van Huyssteen · 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
Xenocalamus bicolor, also known commonly as the bicoloured quill-snouted snake and the slender quill-snouted snake, is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snake in the family Atractaspididae. The species is endemic to Africa. Four subspecies are recognized as being valid.
Wikipedia contributors, Xenocalamus bicolor; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:59:01.699686+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Xenocalamus bicolor Günther, 1868
- Name authority
- Günther, 1868
- Common name
- Slender Quill-snouted Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Atractaspididae
- Genus
- Xenocalamus
- 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
- familyAtractaspididae
- subfamilyAparallactinae
- genusXenocalamus
- speciesXenocalamus bicolor Günther, 1868
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Xenocalamus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Michell's Quill-snouted SnakeXenocalamus michelli Müller, 1911 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sabi Quill-snouted SnakeXenocalamus sabiensis Broadley, 1971 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Elongate Quill-snouted SnakeXenocalamus mechowii Peters, 1881 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Speckled Quill-snouted SnakeXenocalamus transvaalensis Methuen, 1919 | AtractaspididaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Xenocalamus bicolor var. lineatus Roux, 1907 Roux, 1907 | synonym |
| Xenocalamus bicolor concavo-rostralis Hoffman, 1940 Hoffman, 1940 | synonym |
| Michaela pernasuta Werner, 1915 Werner, 1915 | synonym |
| Xenocalamus bicolor maculatus Fitzsimons, 1932 Fitzsimons, 1932 | 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=Xenocalamus&species=bicolor 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:5C9HT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.