Taeniophallus gr. occipitalis

Natural history notes.

Species of small size (n = 1), diurnal and cryptozoic (Sawaya et al. 2008). This individual was killed during the day by a domestic cat, near a forested area. There is no information on diet or reproduction for the examined specimen. There are no records of reproduction or altitudinal variation in T. gr. occipitalis . Prior reports are limited on diet, indicating only lizards as prey (Cechin 1999). No defensive behavior was observed for this species.

Altitudinal variation.

In this study, the maximum record was at 1600 m a.s.l., in the Aiuruoca, MG.

Distribution and habitat.

North, northeast, central-west, southeast and southern Brazil (Bahia, Ceará, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Pará, Paraíba, Paraná, Piauí, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia, São Paulo and Sergipe), Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay (Wallach et al. 2014, Santos-Jr et al. 2008). Taeniophallus gr. occipitalis occurs in open (cerrados, amazon savannas, plateau fields and pampas) and forested areas (western Amazon Forest and northeastern Atlantic Forest, in Brazil) (Santos-Jr et al. 2008).