Caenophidia Hoffstetter 1939

Caenophidia Hoffstetter, 1939 Colubriformes Günther, 1864 (sensu Zaher et al., 2009) Remarks. Most of our snake vertebrae describe here belong to the group of Colubriformes. Within Colubriformes, hypapophyses are typically present in mid- and posterior trunk vertebrae of several subgroups, among others, natricids, elapids, and viperids (Georgalis and Scheyer 2022). The absence of hypapophyses in mid- and posterior trunk vertebrae has long been considered characteristic of Colubridae (e. g., Boulenger 1896; Bogert 1940; Underwood 1967; Bourgeois 1968; Dowling and Duellman 1978) or of the paraphyletic group traditionally referred to as “ Colubrinae ” (Rage 1984; Szyndlar 1987, 1991 a, 2012; Georgalis et al. 2018). However, recent studies have shown that more distantly related groups, such as dipsadids and psammophiids, may also lack hypapophyses in mid- and posterior trunk vertebrae (Georgalis et al. 2019, 2024; Zaher et al. 2019; Georgalis and Scheyer 2022; Georgalis and Szyndlar 2022). It is important to note that both of these non-colubrid groups are native to the New World and are absent from Taiwan.