Shaw's dark ground snake (Erythrolamprus melanotus), also known commonly as Shaw's black-backed snake, and in Spanish as candelilla, guarda caminos, and reinita cazadora, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to northern South America.[4]
The English common names for E. melanotus refer to English biologist George Kearsley Shaw, who described and named this snake as a species new to science in 1802.[5]
E. melanotus grows up to a total length (including tail) of 43 cm (17 in).[4]
Dorsally, it has a light yellow or pinkish color, with a wide, dark vertebral stripe,[4] which is bordered on each side by a thin whitish stripe, followed by a thin dark stripe. The top of the head is olive, and there is a dark stripe passing through the eye. The upper labials and the venter (underside) of the snake are whitish.[6]
The dorsal scales are smooth, with apical pits, and are arranged in 17 rows at midbody.[6]
E. melanotus actively forages during the day for food, which may include fish, amphibians, and lizards.[4]
The geographic distribution of E. melanotus includes Colombia, Venezuela,[7] and Trinidad and Tobago. It is probably extirpated from Grenada.[4]
The preferred natural habitats of E. melanotus are freshwater wetlands, forest, and savanna, at altitudes up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).[1]
Shaw's dark ground snake (Erythrolamprus melanotus), also known commonly as Shaw's black-backed snake, and in Spanish as candelilla, guarda caminos, and reinita cazadora, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to northern South America.
