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Pygmy Marsh-Snake (Erythrolamprus pygmaeus)
Reptiles of Ecuador | Serpentes | Colubridae | Erythrolamprus pygmaeus
English common name: Pygmy Marsh-Snake.
Spanish common name: Culebra pantanera pigmea.
Recognition: ♂♂ 23.2 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=19.4 cm. ♀♀ 24.7 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=20.7 cm..1 Erythrolamprus pygmaeus is the smallest species of its genus and can be identified by having a unique coloration. The dorsum is grayish-brown with a series of dorsolateral oblique bars followed by a series of black spots or blotches, thereafter continuing as a lateral stripe on each side of the body ending at the tip of the tail (Fig. 1).1–4 No other snake in the Ecuadorian Amazon has this pattern. The ventral surfaces are immaculate white.1 The head is uniformly olive-brown followed by a black nuchal band.1–4 This species differs from E. chrysostomus, E. lamonae, and E. reginae by lacking black marks on the belly.5 From Taeniophallus brevirostris, it differs by lacking undulating cream dorsolateral bands.6
![Figure showing a juvenile individual of Erythrolamprus pygmaeus](figures/erythrolamprus_pygmaeus.jpg)
Figure 1: Juvenile of Erythrolamprus pygmaeus from Parque Miraflores, Huila department, Colombia.
Natural history: Erythrolamprus pygmaeus is an extremely rare diurnal and terrestrial to semi-aquatic snake that inhabits rainforests, which may be terra-firme or seasonally flooded.1,3 The species also occurs in disturbed areas such as open fields and crops, but usually not far from the forest border or from water bodies.1,3,7 The swamp snake is diurnal and typically dwells on the leaf-litter, but most other aspects of its natural history remain unknown. Its dentition is aglyphous, meaning the teeth lack specialized grooves to deliver venom.8 In Brazil, remnants of insects were found in the hindgut of a specimen, presumably the result of secondary ingestion of a frog.3 There is a recorded instance of predation on an individual of E. pygmaeus by the coralsnake Micrurus obscurus.1 When threatened, the Pygmy Marsh-Snake expands the neck and anterior part of the body, creating a kind of hood.4 A gravid female in Ecuador laid a clutch of four eggs.7
Conservation: Least Concern Believed to be safe from extinction given current circumstances..9 Erythrolamprus pygmaeus is listed in this category mainly on the basis of the species’ wide distribution, occurrence in protected areas, and presumed large stable populations. Therefore, the species is considered to be facing no major immediate extinction threats.
Distribution: Erythrolamprus pygmaeus is widely distributed throughout the Amazon basin in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador (Fig. 2), Peru, and Venezuela.
![Distribution of Erythrolamprus pygmaeus in Ecuador](maps/erythrolamprus_pygmaeus.jpg)
Figure 2: Distribution of Erythrolamprus pygmaeus in Ecuador. See Appendix 1 for a complete list of the presence localities included in the map.
Etymology: The name Erythrolamprus, which comes from the Greek words erythros (=red) and lampros (=brilliant),10 refers to the bright red body rings of some snakes in this genus (such as E. aesculapii). The specific epithet pygmaeus is a Latin word meaning “dwarf.”10 It refers to the size of this species, the smallest among its genus.
See it in the wild: In Ecuador, Pygmy Marsh-Snakes are recorded no more than once every few years. The area having the greatest number of observations of this species is the environs of Macuma. Active snakes can be found by walking along forest trails during the day.
Authors: Tatiana Molina-Moreno,aAffiliation: Departamento de Biología, Universidad de los Llanos, Villavicencio, Colombia. Sophia Hurtado,bAffiliation: Universidad ICESI, Cali, Colombia. Andrés F. Aponte-Gutiérrez,cAffiliation: Grupo de Investigación en Ciencias de la Orinoquía, Universidad Nacional de Colombia sede Orinoquía, Arauca, Colombia.,dAffiliation: Fundación Biodiversa Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia. and Alejandro ArteagaeAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.
Photographer: Duvan ZambranofAffiliation: Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué, Colombia.
How to cite? Molina-Moreno T, Hurtado S, Aponte-Gutiérrez AF, Arteaga A (Erythrolamprus pygmaeus). In: Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Vieira J (Eds) Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world. Available from: www.reptilesofecuador.com. DOI: 10.47051/MWQG1008
Literature cited:
- Dixon JR, Soini P (1986) The reptiles of the upper Amazon Basin, Iquitos region, Peru. Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, 154 pp.
- Cope ED (1868) An examination of the Reptilia and Batrachia obtained by the Orton Expedition to Equador and the Upper Amazon, with notes on other species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 20: 96–140.
- Martins M, Oliveira ME (1998) Natural history of snakes in forests of the Manaus region, Central Amazonia, Brazil. Herpetological Natural History 6: 78–150.
- Kawashita-Ribeiro RA, de Carvalho VT, de Lima AC, Ávila RW, de Fraga R (2011) Morphology and geographical distribution of the poorly known snake Umbrivaga pygmaea (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) in Brazil. Phyllomedusa 10: 177-182.
- Dixon JR (1989) A key and checklist to the neotropical snake genus Liophis with country lists and maps. Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service 79: 1–40. DOI: 10.5479/si.23317515.79.1
- Duellman WE (1978) The biology of an equatorial herpetofauna in Amazonian Ecuador. Publications of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas 65: 1–352.
- Social media post by Alex Bentley.
- Hurtado-Gómez JP (2016) Systematics of the genus Erythrolamprus Boie 1826 (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) based on morphological and molecular data. PhD thesis, Universidade de São Paulo, 62 pp.
- Caicedo JR, Calderón M, Ines Hladki A, Ramírez Pinilla M, Renjifo J, Rivas G, Urbina N, Nogueira CC (2019) Erythrolamprus pygmaeus. The IUCN Red List of threatened species. Available from: www.iucnredlist.org. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T44581678A44581687.en
- Brown RW (1956) Composition of scientific words. Smithsonian Books, Washington D.C., 882 pp.
Appendix 1: Locality data used to create the distribution map of Erythrolamprus pygmaeus in Ecuador (Fig. 2). Go to the section on symbols and abbreviations for a list of acronyms used.
Country | Province | Locality | Source |
Colombia | Caquetá | Santo Domingo | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Colombia | Cauca | Santa Rosa | Londoño et. al. 2023 |
Colombia | Putumayo | Mocoa | Dunn 1944 |
Colombia | Putumayo | Reserva La Isla Escondida | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Colombia | Putumayo | Río Guamuez | Bentley & Brown 2023; SiB |
Ecuador | Limoncocha | Reserva Biológica Limoncocha | Torres-Carvajal & Hinojosa 2020 |
Ecuador | Morona Santiago | Amazonas, 3 mi E of | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Ecuador | Morona Santiago | Macas | MHNG 2397.058; collection database |
Ecuador | Morona Santiago | Río Macuma | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Ecuador | Napo | El Salado | KU 155509; VertNet |
Ecuador | Napo | Estación Biológica Jatun Sacha | Vigle 2008 |
Ecuador | Napo | Jondachi | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Ecuador | Napo | Yachana Reserve | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
Ecuador | Orellana | Río Bigal Biological Reserve | García et al. 2021 |
Ecuador | Orellana | Río Huataraco | USNM 233067; VertNet |
Ecuador | Pastaza | Avícola Isabel | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Ecuador | Pastaza | Canelos | USNM 233069; VertNet |
Ecuador | Pastaza | Mera | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Ecuador | Pastaza | Montalvo | MSH data; collection database |
Ecuador | Pastaza | Reserva Tamandúa | Photo by Jorge Flores |
Ecuador | Pastaza | Río Tigre | Dal Vechio 2015 |
Ecuador | Pastaza | Sarayacu | Ortega-Andrade 2010 |
Ecuador | Pastaza | Sumak Kawsay In Situ | Bentley et al. 2021 |
Ecuador | Sucumbíos | El Reventador | MHNG 2397.059; collection database |
Ecuador | Zamora Chinchipe | Zamora | Dal Vechio 2015 |
Perú | Amazonas | Yutupis | Dal Vechio 2015 |
Perú | Loreto | Angoteros | Dal Vechio 2015 |
Perú | Loreto | Centro Unión | TCWC 41426; VertNet |
Perú | Loreto | Mishana | TCWC 42111; VertNet |
Perú | Loreto | Moropon | TCWC 40545; VertNet |
Perú | Loreto | Río Marañón | Dal Vechio 2015 |
Perú | Loreto | San Jacinto | KU 222202; VertNet |