Military ground snake (Erythrolamprus miliaris)

Oct 10, 2021 Interesting Creatures in Guyana, News

Interesting Creatures…

Kaieteur News – The military ground snake (Erythrolamprus miliaris) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to South America. In 1964, Gans gave it the common name common water snake.
South American common names for E. miliaris include cobra-d’água (water snake) and cobra-lisa (smooth snake) in Portuguese, and simply culebra (snake) in Spanish.
E. miliaris is found in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and north-eastern Argentina.
Physical characteristics
E. miliaris is stout-bodied (muscular) and relatively short-tailed. Tail length/total length ratios vary from 15.0 percent-19.8 percent with an average of 18.6 percent.
Adults may attain a total length (including tail) of about 50 cm (about 20 in). Dorsally, it is pale olive-brown or yellowish, with each smooth dorsal scale edged with black. Ventrally, it is uniformly yellow.
Feeding
E. miliaris feeds on a wide range of prey items. They include amphibians (also, eggs and tadpoles), invertebrates, lizards, fish, birds, and small rodents. However, there is little information on its feeding habits. A study indicated that females with oviductal eggs did not feed, whereas those E. miliaris snakes with secondary vitellogenic follicles fed more often than did the non-reproductive females.
Sexual maturity
Sexual maturity in snakes is regarded by experts as difficult to determine; however, it can be assessed by the snout-vent length (SVL). Sexual maturity is positively correlated to mean body size. In order to determine the sexual maturity of an Erythrolamprus, scientists have determined the diameter of ovarian follicles if seen to be >10 as indicative of sexual maturity in females, as is the presence of oviducal eggs. Males were considered mature if the testes were large and turgid or if the deferent ducts were opaque and convoluted, indicating the presence of sperm. Females in the subspecies populations of Erythrolamprus miliaris meremmi and Erythrolamprus miliaris orinus were seen to be greater in body size than the males.
Sexual dimorphism
There is sexual dimorphism with respect to size of adult Erythrolamprus. Adult females are larger in the subspecies merremi and orinus. They were seen to be larger than the adult males. The sexual dimorphism index was seen to be similar in the geographic areas of the northern coastal Atlantic forest, southern coastal Atlantic forest, northern inland Atlantic forest and southern inland Atlantic forest. This was indicative of no geographic variation in sexual size dimorphism. It is believed that body size may differ either because of local genetic modification or direct phenotypic effect of food availability on the growth rates. In addition to body size, the comparison of head size in E. miliaris is seen to show no dimorphism. Head size is considered to be associated with inter-sexual dietary divergence.
Reproductive output
With respect to reproductive output in the northern and southern coast Atlantic forest, and the northern and southern inland forest, the reproductive output recorded for Erythrolamprus miliaris orinus and Erythrolamprus miliaris merremi were determined via number of eggs, size of eggs, and number of neonates. The mean egg volume in the southern coast Atlantic forest was seen to be the largest of the four regions. The reproductive frequency was lower in the northern coast Atlantic forest than the other regions.
Parasitism
Parasitism is not understood very well in the context of snake ecology. The only inferences that have been made are those with the influence on natural populations. It is thought to be related to the snakes feeding behaviour and immunological resistance. Two parasites were discovered in the subspecies orinus and merremi. The first were adults of Ophidiascaris sp. (Nemaotoda) in the stomach. Also Cystacaths of Oligatanthorynchus spira (Acanthocephala) were in the peritoneum. The prevalence found in the four different regions, northern and southern coastal Atlantic forest and northern and southern inland Atlantic forest, were observed in Pizatto’s and Marques’ study. The lowest prevalence was seen in the northern coastal Atlantic forest. The level of parasite infestation did not differ between the males and females. Female reproductive status was unaffected by the level of infection, nor was the number of eggs she carried. The male reproductive system was unaffected by the level of infestation as well. (Source: Wikipedia)

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