''Erythrolamprus ocellatus'', commonly known as the Tobago false coral snake, red snake, or doctor snake 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 ...

colubrid 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 ...

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 ...

, which 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 ...

to the island of

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

(in

the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

Description

Unlike other ''Erythrolamprus'' species, ''E. ocellatus'' is not

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

with

coral snake Coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be divided into two distinct groups, the Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes. There are 16 species of Old World coral snakes, in three genera (''Calliophis'', '' Hemibungarus' ...

s and has a spotted rather than a banded pattern.

Dorsally Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

, it is reddish (with black scale tips), and has a series of about 25 large ocelli (round black spots with light centers) running down the middle of the back. This is considered to bean imperfect mimic of a coral snake (there are no extant species of coral snakes in Tobago.) The dorsal surfaces of the head and neck are black, and the tail is ringed with black.

Geographic Range, Habitat and Activity

The species is a

endemic, known only from the wetter northeastern and central parts of the island. It utilizes leaf-litter and is perhaps also

fossorial A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees. Prehistoric eviden ...

in rainforest, forest edge and cacao plantation habitats. It seems to be most active in the early morning and late afternoon.

Diet

It probably feeds on other snakes. They also feed on the microteiid lizards in the genus ''Bachia'', the rain frog ''Pristimantis urichi'', the túngara frog (also known as Central American mud-puddle frog) ''

Engystomops pustulosus ''Engystomops'' is a genus of frogs in the family Leptodactylidae. They are known commonly as foam frogs or túngara frogs, though the latter name most commonly refers to ''Engystomops pustulosus''. They are native to the Americas from southern M ...

'', and the gecko ''Gonatodes vittatus'' (in captivity), and unidentified fish. John C. Murphy 2019

Description

Geographic Range, Habitat and Activity

Diet

References

Further reading