NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black House Snake
Elaiophis inornatus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
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
Elaiophis inornatus, commonly known as the olive house snake, the black house snake, and the olive ground snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Lamprophiidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa. It is a nocturnal snake with terrestrial habits.
Wikipedia contributors, Elaiophis inornatus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:09:54.534423+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Elaiophis inornatus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
- Name authority
- (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
- Common name
- Black House Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Lamprophiidae
- Genus
- Elaiophis
- 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
- genusElaiophis
- speciesElaiophis inornatus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Boodon infernalis Günther, 1858 Günther, 1858 | synonym |
| Lamprophis inornatus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | synonym |
| Pachyophis temporalis Werner, 1924 Werner, 1924 | 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.
- Duméril, A.M.C., G. BIBRON & A.H.A. DUMÉRIL. (1854). Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles. Vol. 7 (partie 1). Paris, Xvi + 780 S. 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:V7HP7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.