18 
Families and Higher Taxa of the Serpentes: 
A New Classification. 
ORDER SQUAMATA -- Scaly Reptiles. 
SUBORDER SERPENTES -- Snakes. 
+INFRAORDER CHOLOPHIDIA -- Extinct Snakelike Vertebrates. 
+Family Lapparentophiidae -- Lower Cretaceous 
"Terrestrial Snake" (Precise age unknown; Algeria). 
+Family Pachyophiidae -- Early Upper Cretaceous "Marine 
Snake" (Cenomanian; Yugoslavia). 
+Family Simoliophiidae -- Early Upper Cretaceous "Marine 
Snake" (Cenomanian; France). 
[Two snakelike Upper Cretaceous fossils were described by 
Haas (1979, 1980a,b). They were not placed by Carroll 
(1988) .] 
INFRAORDER HENOPHIDIA-- Primitive Snakes. 
+Superfamily PALAEOPHIOIDEA -- Early Snakes. 
+Family Dinilysiidae -- Upper Cretaceous "Snake" 
(Senonian; Argentina). 
+Family Palaeophiidae -- Early Cenozoic Seaserpents 
(Upper Cretaceous to Upper Eocene; Worldwide). 
[?]+Family Archaeophiidae -- Eocene Scaly Vertebrate 
(Ypresian; Italy). 
Superfamily PYTHONOIDEA -- Pythons & Allies. 
+Family Madtsoiidae -- Early Cenozoic Henophidian 
(Eocene; South America, Africa, Madagascar). 
Family Pythonidae -- Pythons. 
Family Loxocemidae -- Mexican Burrowing Python. 
Family Xenopeltiidae -- Sunbeam Python. 
Family Calabariidae -- African Burrowing Python. 
Family Aniliidae -- Coral Python. 
Superfamily BOOIDEA -- Boas & Allies. 
Family Boidae -- Boas. 
Family Erycidae -- Sandboas. 
Family Cylindrophiidae -- Pipesnakes. 
Superfamily TROPIDOPHIOIDEA -- Woodsnakes & Allies. 
Family Tropidophiidae -- Woodsnakes. 
Family Bolyeriidae -- Mauritius Snakes. 
