Achalinus (common name: odd-scaled snakes[2]) is a genus of harmless snakes in the family Xenodermidae. They are found in Japan, Taiwan, China, and northern Vietnam. Ten species are currently recognized.[1][3] Achalinus was previously placed in Colubridae (along with other xenodermids).[4] Nicknamed ‘odd-scaled’ due to the fact their scales do not overlap one another like most snakes, but instead are spread out and lie individually similar to pieces of a puzzle. They are also known to be burrowers who crawl below the fallen leaves of the forest.
Image Species[3] Taxon author[3] Subsp.*[3] Common name[3] Geographic range[1][3] A. ater Bourret 1937 0 Bourret's odd-scaled snake Northern Vietnam and China in Guizhou and Guangxi A. dabieshanensis Zhang, Liu, Huang, Hu, Yu, Sun, Zhang, Wen, & Zhang, 2023 0 Dabie Mountains odd–scaled snake China A. dehuaensis Li, Wu, Xu, Zhu, Ren, Guo, & Dong, 2021 0 Dehua odd–scaled snake China A. emilyae Ziegler, Nguyen, Pham, Nguyen, Pham, Van Schingen, Nguyen, & Le, 2019 0 Emily's burrowing snake Vietnam
A. formosanus Boulenger 1908 1 Formosa odd-scaled snake Taiwan and Japan in the southern Ryukyu islands A. hainanus Huang 1975 0 Hainan odd-scaled snake China on Hainan island A. huangjietangi R. Huang, Peng, & S. Huang, 2021 0 Huang's odd-scaled snake Huangshan City, Anhui Province, China A. jinggangensis (Zong & Ma 1983) 0 Zong's odd-scaled snake China in Jiangxi A. juliani Ziegler, Nguyen, Pham, Nguyen, Pham, Van Schingen, Nguyen, & Le, 2019 0 Julian's burrowing snake Vietnam A. meiguensis Hu & Zhao 1966 0 Szechwan odd-scaled snake China in western Sichuan at elevations of 1200–1400 m 
A. niger Maki 1931 0 Black odd-scaled snake Taiwan A. ningshanensis Yang, Huang, Jiang, Burbrink, Gong, Yu, Zhang, Huang, & Huang, 2022 0 Ningshan odd-scaled snake China A. panzhihuaensis Hou, Wang, Guo, Chen, Yuan, & Che, 2021 0 Panzhihua odd-scaled snake China A. pingbianensis Li, Yu, Wu, Liao, Tang, Liu, & Guo 2020 0 Pingbian odd-scaled snake China A. rufescens Boulenger 1888 0 Boulenger's odd-scaled snake Northern Vietnam and China in Hong Kong, Hainan and west to Guizhou, Shaanxi, Guangdong and Fujian 
A. spinalis Peters 1869 0 Peters' odd-scaled snake Northern Vietnam, Japan (Kyūshū, Honshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Koshiki, Tokuno-shima: Kametoku and Inokawa), and central China (east to Fujian, west to Yunnan and Sichuan, and north to Gansu and Shaanxi. Also in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Hubei) at an elevation of 1,230 m A. timi Ziegler, Nguyen, Pham, Nguyen, Pham, Van Schingen, Nguyen, & Le, 2019 0 Tim's burrowing snake Vietnam A. tranganensis[5] Luu, Ziegler, Ha, Lo, Hoang, Ngo, Le, Tran & Nguyen, 2020 0 Vietnam: Ninh Binh province A. vanhoensis Van Ha, Zieglere, Sy, Le, Nguyen, & Luu, 2022 0 Vietnam A. werneri Van Denburgh 1912 0 Amami odd-scaled snake Japan in the central Ryukyu islands A. yangdatongi Hou, Wang, Guo, Chen, Yuan, & Che, 2021 0 Yang's odd-scaled snake China A. yunkaiensis Wang, Li & Wang, 2019 0 Yunkai Mountain's odd-scaled snake, Yunkai Mountain's burrowing snake China A. zugorum Miller, Davis, Luong, and Do, 2020 0 Zug's odd-scaled snake [6] Northern Vietnam *) Not including the nominate subspecies.
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
