Ophidia

Ophidians
Temporal range:
Aptian – Recent,
Questionable Middle Jurassic records
Coast garter snake,
Thamnophis elegans terrestris
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Clade: Toxicofera
Clade: Ophidia
Latreille, 1804
Subgroups

Ophidia /oʊˈfɪdiə/ (also known as Pan-Serpentes) is a group of squamate reptiles including modern snakes and reptiles more closely related to snakes than to other living groups of lizards.

Ophidia was defined as the "most recent common ancestor of Pachyrhachis and Serpentes (modern snakes), and all its descendants" by Lee and Caldwell (1998: 1551).

The clade name Ophidia derives from the Ancient Greek word ὀφίδιον (ophídion), meaning "small snake".

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