Erythrolamprus zweifeli
species of reptile
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.
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. 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 Venezuela and the island of Trinidad, 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.
The public source identifies “Erythrolamprus zweifeli” as species of reptile. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Erythrolamprus, zweifeli and species.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q52984936. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Erythrolamprus zweifeli” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.