Oxyrhopus petola Linnaeus, 1758

De Alencar, Arília Aiarsa Laura R. V. & Martins, Marcio, 2013, Natural History Of Pseudoboine Snakes, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 53 (19), pp. 261-283 : 269

Oxyrhopus petola Linnaeus, 1758

Distribution: Oxyrhopus petola is widely distributed throughout South and Central America, from Mexico to Argentina ( Guyer & Donnelly, 1990; Test et al., 1966; Hoge, 1967; Hoge et al., 1972; Cunha & Nascimento, 1978, 1983; Duellman, 1978, 2005; Dixon & Soini, 1986; McCoy et al., 1986; Pérez-Santos & Moreno, 1988; Silva, 1993; Murphy, 1997; Esqueda & La Marca, 1999; Giraudo, 1999; Bernarde & Machado, 2000; Lehr, 2001; Valdujo & Nogueira, 2001; Santos-Costa, 2003; Argôlo, 2004; Carvalho et al., 2005; Frota et al., 2005; Bernarde & Abe, 2006; Torre-Loranca et al., 2006; Ribeiro, 2007; Vaz-Silva et al., 2007; Santana et al., 2008; Lynch, 2009; Prudente et al., 2010; Silva et al., 2010; Bernarde et al., 2011; L.J. Vitt, unpublished data).

Habitat and time of activity: The maximum SVL reported for O. petola is a female, with 1104 mm of TL (this study). This species appears to inhabit both forested and open areas, and can also be found in disturbed habitats ( Beebe, 1946; Test et al., 1966; Duellman, 1978, 2005; Silva, 1993; Murphy, 1997; Argôlo, 2004; Bernarde, 2004; Carvalho et al., 2005; Esqueda et al., 2005; Bernarde & Abe, 2006; Vaz-Silva et al., 2007; Prudente et al., 2010; Silva et al., 2010; Bernarde et al., 2011; C. Strüssmann, unpublished data; P. Valdujo, unpublished data). It is a terrestrial species (N = 30; Test et al., 1966; Duellman, 1978, 2005; Murphy, 1997; Esqueda et al., 2005; Pereira-Filho, 2007; C. Strüssmann, unpublished data; P. Valdujo, unpublished data), but there are two records of activity on the vegetation ( Duellman, 2005). It can be found active both during the day (N = 16; Duellman, 1978; Carvalho et al., 2005; Pereira-Filho, 2007) and during the night (N = 13; Test et al., 1966; Duellman, 1978, 2005; Pereira-Filho, 2007; C. Strüssmann, unpublished data; P. Valdujo, unpublished data).

Feeding: Oxyrhopus petola is a diet generalist that feeds on small mammals (N = 6), lizards (N = 7, Arthrosaura reticulata , Cercosaura eigenmanni , Cercosaura sp. , Kentropyx pelviceps ), and birds (N = 5, one Columbina talpacoti ), occasionally consuming amphibians (N = 1, Leptodactylus sp. ) and bird eggs (N = 1) ( Duellman, 1978, 2005; Cunha & Nascimento, 1983; Dixon & Soini, 1986; Murphy, 1997; Bernarde & Machado, 2000; Santos-Costa, 2003; C. Strüssmann, unpublished data; L.J. Vitt, unpublished data; this study).

Reproduction: Clutch size varies from two to 12 eggs (N = 25, mean = 7.1 eggs; Test et al., 1966; Fitch, 1970; Lynch, 2009; this study). The smallest mature female was 835 mm SVL (this study) and the smallest mature male was 677 mm SVL (this study).