Dixon's ground snake (''Erythrolamprus atraventer'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Southeastern Brazil The Southeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Sudeste do Brasil; ) is composed of the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo State, São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsi ...

Geographic range

''E. atraventer'' is found in the Brazilian states of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

Habitat

''E. atraventer'' occurs in the upland areas of the

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

, forest edges, in wet areas, and in both forested and open areas. It is terrestrial and diurnal.

Description

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, a male, measures in total length, which includes tail. Female topotypes had relatively shorter tails. The belly is black, as indicated by its specific name (from Latin ''atra'' (=black) and ''venter'' (=belly)). Later studies indicate a maximum length of .

Reproduction

''E. atraventer'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

Conservation status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

did not identify any overt threats affecting ''E. atraventer'', and lists the species as "Least Concern". It is locally common, e.g., in the

Serra do Mar State Park The Serra do Mar State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar) is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It covers of the Serra do Mar mountain range, and is one of the largest remaining areas of continuous Atlantic Forest. The State ...

References

Reptiles of Brazil Erythrolamprus Snakes of South America Endemic fauna of Brazil Reptiles described in 1985 Taxa named by James R. Dixon Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Colubrids-stub