Snake Names in Sanskrit

 

Snake Taxonomy in Sanskrit

I will name the Snake clades and families into Sanskrit. While doing so, I will also coin new words for some of the Snakes. Snakes are an interesting group of reptiles. Throughout human cultures, they have been both feared and reveared. In India, we have the Nagas, which are a race of snakes. Ananta Shesha and Vasuki are examples of Nagas revered in Hinduism. 

Part of the order Squamata, Snakes are closely related to the monitor lizards and the famous Mosasaurus. This also means that snakes are technically lizards. They evolved from ancient lizards that decided to live in borrows. Travelling underground is a lot better without legs, so evolution selected for no legs in snakes, but you can see vestigial legs in some snakes, like Pythons. They are two little spurs.

Belwo is the Phylogentic tree for Snakes. Again not how you draw one, but I drew it this way fro convenience:

Snakes belong to suborder (उपगण​) of Squamata (सरट​) Serpentes (सर्प​). They are further divided into two groups, Scolecophidia and Alethinophidia. Scolecophidia ("worm snakes") are essentially blind snakes. In fact the common name is "bling snakes", and that is the basis for the Sanskrit name I will give them: अन्धसर्प​. The second is the Alethinophia, which includes the the snakes tht most people can name. The name means "genuine snake" as it includes the more well known snakes. I will call it "typical snake" or साधारणसर्प​. 

Alethinophidia (साधारणसर्प)

With in  Alethinophia are two groups, the Amerophidia and the Afrophidia. The former are some obscure species of snakes whose origins are in South America, hence the name. The altter are what include the snakes most people can name, and this clade's origins are in Africa, hence the name.

As a neologism, America in Sanskrit is simply अमेरिका. Thus I will call Amerophidia "snake whose origin is in America" or अमेरिकमूलाहि. By the way, अहि is another Sanskrit word for Snake and is cognate to Greek ophis, whence the ending "-ophidia". The neologism for Africa, as found in the Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, is कालद्वीप​. Hence, Afrophidia is कालद्वीपमूलाहि.

Now with in Afrophidia are groups like Uropeltoidae and Macrostomata. The former are very tube like snakes, and include the sheild tailed snakes. Since they are tube like, I will be calling them "tube snakes" or नालिकाहि. And since this is a superfamily, it would be नालिकाहिरूप​. A another syanonym would be नालिकासर्प​रूप​.  

The next is Macrostomata, which include pretty much all the snakes most people can name. The word Macrstoama means "big stomach" refering to the fact that their bodys are wide in relation to their head size. The interesting thing about Macrostomata is the fact tha they can unhinge their jaws, gape so wide, and swallow prey bigger than their head whole. I shall thus call the clade "very gaping snake" or अतिजृंभसर्प​.

Macrostomata (अतिजृंभसर्प)

Now with in Macrostomata, we will name the Pythons, Boas, Colubroids. Within Colubroidae, we will name the Colubrids, Elapids, and the Vipers.

Starting with the Python. Pythons are found in India and hence have a native Sanskrit name, which is जगर​. By the way, Aghasura, the legendary demon snake that swallowed the cowherd boys whole, and later killed by Krishna, was a Python. In my system, Pythons are those that belong to the superfamily Pythonoidae. The superfamily will be called जगररूप​. The family Pythonidae however will be called सुजगरमय​.

Boas, which look like Pythons, are more closely related to Cobras. Their similar forms are due to convergence That isn't to say they are unrelated, it is just that theya re tangentially related. Thus I will name boas after pythons using the prefix अप​-. So अपजगर​. Since we are naming the superfmily Booidae, it would be अपजगर​रूप. The family Boidae would be सवपजगरमय​​.

Next are the Caenophidia and the Colubroidae. First let us name Colubrid snakes. In the Mahabharata, there was a sage named Ruru who vowed to kill every snake he saw after his wife died from a snake bite. But then a nin venomous snake called a Dundubha (दुन्दुभ) says that he is not venomous and doesn't deserve to be killed. In Sanskrit, Dundubha (दुन्दुभ) is a nion venomous snake, and I shall use it to refer to the Colubrid snakes, most of which are non-venomous or whose venom is not harmfult to humans (the exception being the boomslang!).  Colubridae is thus दुन्दुभमय​.

Caenophidia and Colubroiade will be named after the Dundubha ( दुन्दुभ) snakes using the ending दृश् and आकृति, respectively. Thus दुन्दुभदृश् and दुन्द्रुभाकृतिरूप​, respectively. 

Now onto the Elapidae. The word Elapid comes form an Anceitn Greek word for some sort of snake tied to the water. I dicided to name the group after the the demoness Surasa, who dwelled in the ocean and Hanuman had to fight her when flying over the ocean to Lanka. Surasa is the also said to be the ancestors of the Nagas, along with Kadru. Hence Elapidae would be सौरसमय​ or काद्रवमय​. But if that is not acceptable, we could name the family after the fact that these snakes have neurotoxic venom. The Sanskrit word repurposed to mean nerve is नाडि. Thus Neurotoxic is नाडिविषिन्. Thus the family is नाडिविषिमय​.

Lastly, we have Viperiae, or vipers. In India we have the Saw Svaled Viper and the Russel's Viper, whicha re one of India's most dangerous snakes. now the Sushruta Samhita mentions “Mandalin” (मन्डलिन्) snakes referring likely the Russel’s or Saw Scaled vipers. They are called this because of their circular blotches. It seems like most vipers have these blotch patterns. Hence the family Viperidae will be called मन्डलिमय​. But if that is not palatable, let's name them after the fact that they have venom toxic to the blood, so रक्तविषिन् + मय --> रक्तविषिमय .

Conclusion

So we are done naming the Snakes. I may go indepth later on, but here is the full cladogram in Sanskrit:

Serpentes: सर्प​

    Scolecophidia: अन्धसर्प

    Alethinophidia: साधारणसर्प

        Amerophidia: अमेरिकमूलाहि

        Afrophidia: कालद्वीपमूलाहि

                    Uropeltoidae:  नालिकासर्प​रूप​

            Macrostomata: अतिजृंभसर्प

                    Pythonoidae: जगररूप

                        Pythonidae: सुजगरमय

                    Booidae: अपजगर​रूप

                        Boidae: सवपजगरमय

            Ceonophidia: दुन्दुभदृश् 

                    Colubroidae: दुन्द्रुभाकृतिरूप

                        Colubridae: दुन्दुभमय

                        Elapidae: सौरसमय or काद्रवमय or  नाडिविषिन्

                        Viperidae: मन्डलिमय or रक्तविषिमय .