Erythrolamprus bizona belongs to the genusErythrolamprus, which contains over 50 species. The genus Erythrolamprus belongs to the subfamilyDipsadinae, which is sometimes referred to as the family Dipsadidae. The relationships of Erythrolamprus species located in northern South America (Venezuela) can be shown in the cladogram below, based on molecular DNA analysis:[4]
It is a forest dweller,[4] often found in the leaf litter or burrowed in the soil in rain forests.
Symbiotic relationship
It burrows primarily near the Pouteria caimito, 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.
References
^Powney, G., Lewis, S., Sears, J., Wren, S., Milligan, H.T., Vargas Álvarez, J., Saborío, G., García Rodríguez, A., Batista, A., Ballesteros, E., Acosta Chaves, V., De Silva, R., Wearn, O.R., Zamin, T., Wilson, P., Lintott, P., Caicedo, J., Gutiérrez-Cárdenas, P. & Rivas, G. 2016. Erythrolamprus bizona. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T176805A1447602 . https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/176805/1447602.
^ITIS (Integrated taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
^Freiberg, M.A. 1982. Snakes of South America. T.F.H. Publications. Hong Kong. 189 pp. ISBN0-87666-912-7. (Erythrolamprus bizona, p. 98.)
Further reading
Boos, Hans E.A. (2001). The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago. Texas A&M University Press. College Station, Texas. xvi + 328 pp. ISBN1-58544-116-3.
Goldberg, Stephen R. (2004). "Notes on reproduction in the false coral snakes, Erythrolamprus bizona and Erythrolamprus mimus (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Costa Rica". The Texas Journal of Science. 56 (2). Texas Academy of Science: 171–174.
Jan G. 1863. Enumerazione sistematica degli ofidi appartenenti al gruppo Coronellidae. Arch. Zool. Anat.Fisiol. 2 (2): 213–330. (Erythrolamprus aesculapii [var.] bizona, pp. 314–316.)
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