Shaw's dark ground snake
# Shaw's dark ground snake

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.

## Etymology

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.

## Description

E. melanotus grows up to a total length (including tail) of 43 cm (17 in).

Dorsally, it has a light yellow or pinkish color, with a wide, dark vertebral stripe, 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.

The dorsal scales are smooth, with apical pits, and are arranged in 17 rows at midbody.

## Behavior and diet

E. melanotus actively forages during the day for food, which may include fish, amphibians, and lizards.

## Reproduction

E. melanotus is oviparous.

## Geographic range

The geographic distribution of E. melanotus includes Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is probably extirpated from Grenada.

## Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of E. melanotus are freshwater wetlands, forest, and savanna, at altitudes up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).

