Mehelya

Mehelya is a genus name of colubrid snakes from Africa. Species formerly assigned to the genus Mehelya are now found in the genera Gonionotophis, Gracililima, or Limaformosa. They are collectively called file snakes due to their unusual scalation. They are not venomous. The generic name, Mehelya, is in honor of Hungarian zoologist Lajos Méhelÿ. The 5 species within the genus Mehelya (sensu lato) are: File snakes are found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, from the Cape of South Africa through Zimbabwe and Botswana to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and further.