''Erythrolamprus zweifeli'', the braided ground snake or Zweifel's ground 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), ...

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 ...

in the family

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. C ...

. The species is found in

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 ...

and

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 ...

Classification

''Erythrolamprus zweifeli'' 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'', 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, which is sometimes referred to as the family Dipsadidae. ''Erythrolamprus zweifeli'' was previously considered to be a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of ''

Erythrolamprus reginae The royal ground snake (''Erythrolamprus reginae'') is a species of snake in the Family (biology), family Colubridae. The species is Endemism, endemic to northern South America. Classification ''Erythrolamprus reginae'' belongs to the genus ''E ...

'' and called ''Erythrolamprus reginae zweifeli''. However, based on notable differences in coloration and scale counts, it is now considered to be a separate species. This close relationship to ''Erythrolamprus reginae'', as well as the relationships of ''Erythrolamprus'' species located in northern South America, can be shown in the cladogram below, based on molecular DNA analysis:

Description

''Erythrolamprus zweifeli'' has either a salt-and-pepper dorsal pattern or a more uniform olive-green or olive-brown pattern, with a red or black belly. It has a black postocular stripe, and lacks apical pits in its scales.

Distribution

It lives in

and the island of

, within montane forests, often associated with stream-edges.

Diet

''Erythrolamprus zweifeli'' likely hunts along forested stream-edges, feeding on '' Mannophryne'' stream frogs, hylid frogs, '' Leptodactylus validus'' (Windward ditch frog), salamanders, '' Ameiva'' lizards, and small birds.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q52984936 Erythrolamprus Reptiles of Venezuela Reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago Reptiles described in 1959 Taxa named by Janis Roze