Erythrolamprus zweifeli

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 zweifeli
Name

Erythrolamprus zweifeli (Roze, 1959)

Holotype: MBUCV 95, ♀.

Type locality: “Rancho Grande in the state of Aragua, Venezuela, at an elevation of 1100 meters, in a cloud forest region.”
Combinations

Leimadophis zweifeli Roze, 1959: 4 [original combination]
Liophis reginae zweifeli — Dixon, 1983: 126 [name combination, reduce to subspecies]
Liophis zweifeli — Rivas et al., 2012: 46 [subsequent combination, restaure to species]
Erythrolamprus zweifeli — Grazziotin et al., 2012: 458 [subsequent combination]

References
Primary references

Roze, J.A. 1959. Taxonomic notes on a collection of Venezuelan reptiles in the American Museum of Natural History. American Museum Novitates 1934: 1–14. hdl: 2246/4351 Reference page.
Dixon, J.R. 1983. Systematics of Liophis reginae and L. williamsi (Serpentes, Colubridae), with a description of a new species. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 52(6): 113–138. BHL

Template:Rivas et al., 2012a

Grazziotin, F.G., Zaher, H., Murphy, R.W., Scrocchi, G., Altamirano-Benevides, M.A., Zhang, Y.-P. & Bonatto, S.L. 2012. Molecular phylogeny of the New World Dipsadidae (Serpentes: Colubroidea): a reappraisal. Cladistics 28(5): 437–459. DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2012.00393.x Paywall Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2025. Erythrolamprus zweifeli. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 8 May 2018.
Rivas, G. & Schargel, W. 2016. IUCN: Erythrolamprus zweifeli (Least Concern). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T67630989A67631155. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T67630989A67631155.en

Vernacular names
English: Zweifel’s Ground Snake

Erythrolamprus zweifeli, the braided ground snake or Zweifel's ground snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in Venezuela and Trinidad.[2]
Classification

Erythrolamprus zweifeli 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.

Erythrolamprus zweifeli was previously considered to be a subspecies of Erythrolamprus reginae and called Erythrolamprus reginae zweifeli. However, based on notable differences in coloration and scale counts, it is now considered to be a separate species.[3] 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:[3]

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.[3]
Distribution

It lives in Venezuela and the island of Trinidad, within montane forests, often associated with stream-edges.[3]
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.[3]
References

Rivas, G. & Schargel, W. 2016. Erythrolamprus zweifeli. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T67630989A67631155. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/67630989/67631155 Downloaded on 02 October 2018.
Erythrolamprus zweifeli at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 25 August 2014.
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.