Bothrops jararaca (Wied, 1824)

enezes, Frederico de Alcantara, Abegg, Arthur Diesel, Silva, Bruno Rocha da, ranco, Francisco Luis & Feio, Renato Neves, 2018, Composition and natural history of the snakes from the Parque Estadual da Serra do Papagaio, southern Minas Gerais, Serra da Mantiqueira, Brazil, ZooKeys 797, pp. 117-160 : 117

Bothrops jararaca (Wied, 1824) Figure 4J

Natural history notes.

A species of medium size (n = 2), semi-arboreal and mainly nocturnal ( Sazima 1992, Marques et al. 2001). In January, a recently road-killed adult male was found in the morning in a forested area. In March, an adult was seen at 10:40 h. above a rock outcrop at 2150 m a.s.l. near a forested area. When the observer approached, it fled into the forest. We did not obtain information on diet or reproduction from the observed specimen. Available information on diet from prior studies indicates that B. jararaca is a specialist, with ontogenetic variation. When juvenile, it often feeds on ectothermic prey (amphibians). This shifts to endothermic prey during adulthood ( Sazima 1992). The reproductive cycle is seasonal and biennial. Pregnant females can be found from November to March ( Almeida-Santos and Salomão 2002). Gestation ranges from 152 to 239 days, with fecundity from three to 36 snakelets ( Alves et al. 2000, Almeida-Santos and Salomão 2002).

Altitudinal variation.

This species was found at a minimum of sea level between Rio Grande do Sul and Bahia with a maximum of 1640 m a.s.l. in Parque Nacional da Serra da Bocaina, SP ( Bérnils 2009). The maximum altitudinal record for this species from this study area is an individual recorded at 2150 m a.s.l., in Baependi-MG. Of the surveyed toponyms, 33% occur at low elevations (0-400 m a.s.l.) and 41.5% at intermediate altitudes (400-800 m a.s.l.) ( Bérnils 2009).

Distribution and habitat.

Central-west, northeast, southeast, and southern Brazil (Bahia, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo, and Santa Catarina), Paraguay and Argentina ( Wallach et al. 2014). This species is common in ombrophilous and seasonal forests, although it can also be found in secondary forests and disturbed areas ( Bérnils 2009).