Erythrolamprus cursor

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Sauropsida
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Cladus: Diapsida
Cladus: Neodiapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Cladus: Unidentata, Episquamata
Cladus: Toxicofera
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Colubroidea

Familia: Dipsadidae
Subfamilia: Xenodontinae
Genus: Erythrolamprus
Species: Erythrolamprus cursor
Name

Erythrolamprus cursor (Bonnaterre, 1789)

Syntypes: ANSP 5580 (Jardin de Plantes), and MNHN (M. de Chanvalon, King of France’s cabinet, Paris).
Type locality: “Martinique”.

Combinations

Coluber cursor Bonnaterre, 1790: 27 [original combination]
Herpetodryas cursor — Schlegel, 1837: 199 [subsequent combination]
Dromicus cursor — Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 [subsequent combination]
Liophis cursor — Werner, 1924 [subsequent combination]
Erythrolamprus cursor — Grazziotin, Zaher, Murphy, Scrocchi, Benavides, Zhang & Bonatto, 2012 [subsequent combination]

Synonyms

Coluber cursor Lacépède, 1789: 96 [unavaliable name, Lacépède, 1789 was placed on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Works in Zoological Nomenclature by Opinion 1463 (1987)]
Coluber fugitivus Donndorf, 1798
Liophis putnamii Cope, 1862: 78
Holotype: ANSP 5580 (Jardin de Plantes in ex).
Type locality: “Martinique”.

Native distribution areas

Martinique (including Rocher du Diamant).

References
Primary references

Lacépède, B.G.E. 1789. Histoire naturelle des serpens. Tome Second. Hôtel de Thou: Paris. 462 pp. BHL Reference page.
Bonnaterre, P.-J. 1790. Tableau Encyclopédique et Méthodique des Trois Règnes de la Nature. Ophiologie. Chez Panckoucke: Paris. xliv + 76 pp. BHL Reference page.
Donndorff, J.A. 1798. Zoologische Beyträge zur xiii. Ausgabe des Linneischen Natursystems. Dritter Band. Amphibien und Fische (In German). Weidmannschen: Leipzig. VI + 980 pp. Full text. Reference page.
Cope, E.D. 1862. Synopsis of the Species of Holcosus and Ameiva, with Diagnoses of new West Indian and South American Colubridae. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 14: 60–82. BHL Reference page.
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 1987. Opinion 1463. De Lacépède, 1788-1789, Histoire Naturelle des Serpens and later editions: rejected as a non-binominal work. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 44(4): 265–267. BHL Reference page.

Additional references

MacLean, W.P., Kellner, R. & Dennis, H. 1977. Island lists of West Indian amphibians and reptiles. Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service no. 40: 1–47. BHL Reference page.
Schwartz, A. & Henderson, R.W. 1988. West Indian amphibians and reptiles: A check-list. Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology no. 74: 1–264. ISBN 978-0893261566 Reference page.
Schwartz, A. & Henderson, R.W. 1991. Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. University of Florida Press: Gainesville. xiv + 720 p. ISBN 9780813010496 Reference page.
Powell, R., Henderson, R.W., Adler, K. & Dundee, H.A. 1996. An annotated checklist of West Indian amphibians and reptiles. pp. 51–93 + 8 pls. In Powell, R. & Henderson, R.W. (eds.). Contributions to West Indian Herpetology: A Tribute to Albert Schwartz. Contributions to Herpetology. Volume 12. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles: Ithaca, New York. 457 pp. ISBN 9780916984373 Reference page.
Henderson, R.W. & Powell, R. 2009. Natural History of West Indian Reptiles and Amphibians. University Press of Florida: Gainesville, Florida. 495 pp. ISBN 9780813033945 Reference page.
Powell, R. & Henderson, R.W. 2012. Island lists of West Indian amphibians and reptiles. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 51(2): 85–166. PDF Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2025. Erythrolamprus cursor. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 11 June 2023.
Dewynter, M., Daltry, J.C. & Powell, R. 2016. IUCN: Erythrolamprus cursor (Critically Endangered) (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T12079A115104218. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T12079A71739671.en. Accessed on 11 June 2023.

Vernacular names
English: Lacépède's Ground Snake

Lacépède's ground snake (Erythrolamprus cursor) is a species of snake in the Colubridae family. It is endemic to Caribbean island of Martinique. Little is known of it scientifically, and few photographs exist.
Geographic range

It has been reported on Diamond Rock (Rocher du Diamant), which may be the last refuge for the species.
Taxonomy

The French naturalist Bernard Germain Étienne de la Ville, Comte de Lacépède first described it in 1789 in his Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes Ovipares et de Serpens.

Erythrolamprus cursor belongs to the genus Erythrolamprus, which contains over 50 species. The genus Erythrolamprus belongs to the subfamily Dipsadinae, which is sometimes referred to as the family Dipsadidae. The relationships of Erythrolamprus species located in northern South America can be shown in the cladogram below, based on molecular DNA analysis:[3]

Behavior

The snake is diurnal and lives on the ground, usually hidden under leaves and wood. It hunts reptiles and amphibians.
Conservation status

The importation to Martinique of other species of snakes, and of mongooses to control them, have driven it to near extinction.
References

Boulenger, G.A. 1894. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xi + 382 pp. + Plates I.- XX. (Liophis cursor, pp. 139-140.)
The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Murphy, John C.; Braswell, Alvin L.; Charles, Stevland P.; Auguste, Renoir J.; Rivas, Gilson A.; Borzée, Amaël; Lehtinen, Richard M.; Jowers, Michael J. (15 Jan 2019). "A new species of Erythrolamprus from the oceanic island of Tobago (Squamata, Dipsadidae)". ZooKeys (817): 131–157. doi:10.3897/zookeys.817.30811.

External links

Breuil, M. 1996. Erythrolamprus cursor. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 28 July 2007.

Further reading

Lacepède, B.G.E. 1789. Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes Ovipares et de Serpens. Vol. 2. Paris: Imprimerie du Roi, Hôtel de Thou. 671 pp. (Coluber cursor, p. 96.)