''Erythrolamprus bizona'', commonly known as the double-banded false coral snake, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of colubrid

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

, which is found in northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

Classification

''Erythrolamprus bizona'' belongs to the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Erythrolamprus ''Erythrolamprus'' is a genus of colubrid snakes native to Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. They include the false coral snakes, which appear to be coral snake mimics. Classification The genus ''Erythrolamprus'' belongs to ...

'', which contains over 50 species. The genus ''Erythrolamprus'' belongs to the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Dipsadinae Dipsadinae is a large subfamily of colubroid snakes, sometimes referred to as a family (Dipsadidae). Species of the subfamily Dipsadinae are found in most of the Americas, including the West Indies, and are most diverse in South America. There a ...

, which is sometimes referred to as the family Dipsadidae. The relationships of ''Erythrolamprus'' species located in northern South America (

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

) can be shown in the

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

below, based on molecular DNA analysis:

Geographic range

It is found in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, Freiberg, M.A. 1982. ''Snakes of South America''. T.F.H. Publications. Hong Kong. 189 pp. . (''Erythrolamprus bizona'', p. 98.)

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, and on the island of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

(in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago).

Mimicry

Similar in pattern to a coral snake, this species probably gains protection through

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. In the simples ...

Diet

It feeds mainly on other snakes.

Habitat

It is a forest dweller, often found in the leaf litter or burrowed in the soil in rain forests.

Symbiotic relationship

It burrows primarily near the ''

Pouteria caimito ''Pouteria caimito'', the abiu (), is a tropical fruit tree in the family ''Sapotaceae''. It grows in the Amazon Basin, Amazonian region of South America, and this type of fruit can also be found in the Philippines and other countries in Southea ...

'', commonly known as the '' abiu'', a tropical fruit tree, the nutrients of which supply the snake's clutch of eggs. In turn the tree is fertilized by the snake's urine and embryotic fluid.