The defining morphological characters of the family Elapidae are analysed in an attempt to evaluate whether the front‐fanged, proteroglyphous, snakes constitute a natural (monophyletic) group or whether proteroglyphy is more likely to be a condition achieved independently by a number of higher snake lineages. The evidence relating to presumed elapids whose affinities have been questioned, namely a South African genusHomoroselapsand New World proteroglyphs(MicrurusandMicruroides), is examined. It concluded thatHomoroselapsis a genuinely equivocal case, the evidence for its inclusion in the Elapidae is balanced by features which suggest that it is more closely related to the Aparallactinae. However,MicrurusandMicruroidesseem clearly to be more closely related to undisputed elapids than to any other caenophidians. It is suggested that, at least for the present, the family Elapidae be retained in its broad sense to include all proteroglyphous snake