Elapotinus is a monotypic genus created for the rear-fanged snake species, Elapotinus picteti. The species is endemic to Madagascar. It is also known commonly as Jan's snake in honor of Italian herpetologist Giorgio Jan. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
The specific name or epithet, picteti, is in honor of François Jules Pictet de la Rive, a Swiss zoologist and palaeontologist.
