Erythrolamprus bizona

Erythrolamprus bizona
false coral snake, preserved specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Subfamily:	Xenodontinae
Genus:	Erythrolamprus
Species:	E. bizona
Binomial name
Erythrolamprus bizona Jan, 1863[1]
Synonyms
Erythrolamprus aesculapii var. bizona Jan, 1863 Erythrolamprus bizona — Dunn & Bailey, 1939 Erythrolamprus bizonus — Savage, 2002 Erythrolamprus bizona — G.A. Rivas et al., 2012[2]

Erythrolamprus bizona, commonly known as the false coral snake, is a species of colubrid snake, which is endemic to northern South America and Central America.

Geographic range

It is found in Colombia, Venezuela,^[3] Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama,^[2] and on the island of Trinidad (in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago).

Mimicry

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

Diet

It probably feeds mainly on other snakes.

Habitat

It is 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

1. ITIS (Integrated taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
2. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
3. Freiberg, M.A. 1982. Snakes of South America. T.F.H. Publications. Hong Kong. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (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. ISBN 1-58544-116-3.
• 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 (Texas Academy of Science) 56 (2): 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.)