Oxybelis

noun

Ox·​yb·​e·​lis

äkˈsibələ̇s

: a genus of slender chiefly arboreal back-fanged snakes (family Colubridae) having slender pointed snouts and being widely distributed in tropical America with one species occurring as far north as Arizona

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek oxybelēs sharp-pointed, from oxy- oxy- + -belēs pointed, from belos arrow; akin to Greek ballein to throw

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