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Re: Snake Groups
Yeah, to elaborate on what SMY said....what defines a particular species is certain characteristics that distinguish it from another established species. For example, what separates a leopard gecko from an African fat-tail gecko? Or a corn snake from a grey rat snake?
Can't really go by color or pattern, because in most cases, those are too variable. Usually there are differences in the skeletal structure, dentition, scale counts, and/or DNA. In fact, there are several species of amphibians that can ONLY be distinguished at the molecular level!
So take the sunbeam snake for example. It has enough differences in anatomy/physiology to separate it from all other genera, but it just happens to be the only one known to science in that category. That is why it is a "loner."
To take the discussion further, this is why many snake enthusiasts have issues with the family Colubridae, which includes (but is not limited to): ratsnakes, kingsnakes, garters, pine snakes, beauty snakes, African house snakes, etc. For decades, it has been a "dumping ground" for those "typical-looking" snakes that are obviously not vipers, elapids, or constrictor (Boidae). But now taxonomists are really picking them apart, and separating them likewise as they find differences. They did this with African House snakes a couple years ago; originally, all "house" snakes were lumped under the genus Lamprophis, but then they split it off into 4-5 new genera, which I personally felt was warranted, because some were obviously distinct from others.
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