Erythrolamprus
| Erythrolamprus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Erythrolamprus bizona, preserved specimen | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Xenodontinae |
| Genus: | Erythrolamprus Wagler, 1830[1] |
| Synonyms | |
|
Coluber, Coniophanes, Coronella, Elaps, Glaphyrophis, Natrix, Opheomorphus, Umbrivaga [2][3] | |
Erythrolamprus is a genus of colubrid snakes, commonly known as false coral snakes, native to Central America, and the northern part of South America. They appear to be coral snake mimics.
Species
Six species are currently recognized.[1]
- Erythrolamprus aesculapii (Linnaeus, 1766) -- false coral snake
- Erythrolamprus bizona Jan, 1863 -- false coral snake
- Erythrolamprus guentheri Garman, 1883
- Erythrolamprus mimus (Cope, 1868)
- Erythrolamprus ocellatus W. Peters, 1868 -- Tobago false coral snake
- Erythrolamprus pseudocorallus Roze, 1959
Mimicry
The brightly colored, ringed patterns of snakes of the genus Erythrolamprus resemble those of sympatric coral snakes of the genus Micrurus, and it has been suggested that this is due to mimicry. Whether this is classical Batesian mimicry, classical Müllerian mimicry, a modified form of Müllerian mimicry, or no mimicry at all, remains to be proven.[4]
Cited references
- 1 2 "Erythrolamprus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
- ↑ Boulenger GA. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ), ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Genus Erythrolamprus, pp. 199-200).
- ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ↑ Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR. 1978. Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. xi + 378 pp. ISBN 0-7167-0020-4. (Mimicry in Erythrolamprus, p. 159).
Further reading
- Wagler, J[G]. 1830. Natürliches System der Amphibien, mit vorangehender Classification des Saügthiere und Vögel. Ein Beitrag zur vergleichenden Zoologie. Munich, Stuttgart, and Tüingen: J.G. Cotta. vi + 354 pp. (Genus Erythrolamprus, p. 187).
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