Erythrolamprus typhlus

Erythrolamprus typhlus, the blind ground snake or velvet ground snake, is a species of South American snake in the family Colubridae. It is found in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Bolivia.^[2]

An adult Erythrolamprus typhlus, velvet swamp snake

A juvenile Erythrolamprus typhlus, velvet swamp snake

Blind ground snake
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Subfamily:	Dipsadinae
Genus:	Erythrolamprus
Species:	E. typhlus
Binomial name
Erythrolamprus typhlus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Classification

Erythrolamprus typhlus belongs to the genus Erythrolamprus, which contains over 50 species. The genus Erythrolamprus belongs to the subfamily Dipsadinae, which is sometimes referred to as the family Dipsadidae.

Recent phylogenetic analysis of morphological and molecular DNA evidence has shown that Erythrolamprus typhlus is now likely paraphyletic.^[3]

The relationships of Erythrolamprus species located in northern South America can be shown in the cladogram below:^[3]

	E. poecilogyrus (paraphyletic) E. ceii E. poecilogyrus (paraphyletic)
	E. miliaris E. miliaris Erythrolamprus typhlus (Brazil) (paraphyletic) E. reginae (paraphyletic) E. reginae (paraphyletic) E. zweifeli E. breviceps E. epinephalus (Peru) (paraphyletic) E. epinephalus (Costa Rica) (paraphyletic) E. pseudoreginae E. melanotus E. atraventer E. jaegeri E. almadensis E. juliae E. cursor Erythrolamprus typhlus (French Guiana) (paraphyletic) E. cobella E. aesculapii (Brazil) (paraphyletic) E. ocellatus E. aesculapii (French Guiana & Guyana) (paraphyletic) E. bizona E. mimus