Erythrolamprus miliaris
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The military ground snake (Erythrolamprus miliaris) is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to South America. South American common names for Erythrolamprus miliaris include cobra-d'água (water snake) and cobra-lisa (smooth snake) in Portuguese, and simply culebra (snake) in Spanish.
Erythrolamprus miliaris was originally described as Coluber miliaris by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Erythrolamprus miliaris 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. The relationships of Erythrolamprus species located in northern South America can be shown in the cladogram below, based on molecular DNA analysis:
Five subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies. Erythrolamprus miliaris amazonicus (Dunn, 1922) Erythrolamprus miliaris chrysostomus (Cope, 1868) Erythrolamprus miliaris merremi (Wied, 1821) Erythrolamprus miliaris miliaris (Linnaeus, 1758)
Erythrolamprus miliaris orinus (Griffin, 1916) The subspecific name,... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Military Ground Snake sighting in Tijuca National Park on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 21 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Military Ground Snake in Tijuca National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and December, the lowest months. That is one of Tijuca National Park's wettest months, with about 150 mm of rain against 40 mm in July.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Military Ground Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Military Ground Snake sightings, Tijuca National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 30%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Military Ground Snake that you can see in Tijuca National Park (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Brown Sipo (about 10%), Two-headed Sipo (about 10%) and Coastal Sipo (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Military Ground Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Tijuca National Park (18 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
