Achalinus

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Reptilia

Order:Squamata

Suborder:Serpentes

Achalinus
Formosa odd-scaled snake, Achalinus f. formosanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Xenodermidae
Genus:	Achalinus W. Peters, 1869[1]

Achalinus (common name: odd-scaled snakes)^[2] is a genus of harmless snakes in the family Xenodermidae. Species of the genus are found in China, Japan, Taiwan, and northern Vietnam. Ten species are recognized as being valid.^[1][3] Achalinus was previously placed in Colubridae (along with other xenodermids).^[4] The nickname "odd-scaled" is because their dorsal scales do not overlap one another as in most snakes, but instead are spread out and lie individually similar to pieces of a puzzle. Odd-scaled snakes are burrowers that crawl below the fallen leaves of the forest.