Erythrolamprus ocellatus

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Cladus: Unidentata, Episquamata
Cladus: Toxicofera
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Colubroidea

Familia: Dipsadidae
Subfamilia: Xenodontinae
Genus: Erythrolamprus
Species: Erythrolamprus ocellatus
Name

Erythrolamprus ocellatus Peters, 1869: 642
References
Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2023. Erythrolamprus ocellatus. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 23 February 2021.
Murphy, J. 2016. IUCN: Erythrolamprus ocellatus (Least Concern) (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T203512A115350272. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T203512A2766906.en

Vernacular names
English: Tobago False Coralsnake

Erythrolamprus ocellatus, commonly known as the Tobago false coral snake, red snake, or doctor snake is a species of colubrid snake, which is endemic to the island of Tobago (in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago).[3]
Description

Unlike other Erythrolamprus species, E. ocellatus is not sympatric with coral snakes and has a spotted rather than a banded pattern.[3]

Dorsally, 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.[4]) The dorsal surfaces of the head and neck are black, and the tail is ringed with black.[5]
Geographic Range, Habitat and Activity

The species is a Tobago endemic, known only from the wetter northeastern and central parts of the island. It utilizes leaf-litter and is perhaps also fossorial 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.[3] 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, and the gecko Gonatodes vittatus (in captivity), and unidentified fish. [6]
References

Murphy, J. 2016. Erythrolamprus ocellatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T203512A115350272. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/203512/115350272 Downloaded on 02 October 2018.
The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
Boos, Hans E.A. (2001). The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago. Texas A&M University Press. College Station, Texas. xvi + 328 pp. ISBN 1-58544-116-3.
John C. Murphy, 2019
Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ Aglyphæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ),... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.- XXV. ("E. ocellatus, Peters", p. 204.)

John C. Murphy 2019