Copeoglossum nigropunctatum ( Spix, 1825 )

Ribeiro-Júnior, Marco A. & Amaral, Silvana, 2016, Catalogue of distribution of lizards (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Brazilian Amazonia. III. Anguidae, Scincidae, Teiidae, Zootaxa 4205 (5), pp. 401-430 : 404-405

Copeoglossum nigropunctatum ( Spix, 1825)

Type-locality. Santa Rita , Maraã municipally, left margin of Japurá River (Lake Paricá), state of Amazonas, Brazil, by neotype designation by Ávila-Pires (1995) . Holotype from Ecgá, actually Tefé, state of Amazonas, Brazil, considered lost by Hoogmoed & Gruber (1983).

Pertinent taxonomic references. Spix (1825), Tschudi (1845), Boulenger (1887), Dunn (1935), Amaral (1937), Hoogmoed (1973), Williams & Vanzolini (1980), Hoogmoed & Gruber (1983), Cunha et al. (1985), Nascimento et al. (1988), Ávila-Pires (1995), Miralles et al. (2005a, b, 2006, 2009a, 2009b), Whiting et al. (2006), Harvey et al. (2008), Miralles & Carranza (2010), Hedges & Conn (2012), Pinto-Sánchez et al. (2015).

Distribution and habitat. Copeoglossum nigropunctatum is widespread in Amazonia and Cerrado, in central and northern Atlantic Forest, and in some forest enclaves within the Caatinga, occurring in Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia ( Fig. 2 ). In Brazil it is known from the states of Amapá, Pará, Amazonas, Roraima, Acre, Rondônia, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and in the Distrito Federal. Copeoglossum nigropunctatum is semi-arboreal and diurnal. In Amazonia it inhabits primary and secondary terra firme forest, always associated with sunny spots, like treefall gaps and border of forest, most often amid fallen branches and trunks, sometimes on the ground or on tree trunks; also on branches and associated vegetation in the canopy ( Cunha et al. 1985; Nascimento et al. 1988; Hoogmoed & Ávila-Pires 1991; Martins 1991; Vitt & Blackburn 1991; Vitt et al. 1997a; Vitt & Zani 1998; Nascimento 1998; Vitt et al. 1999, 2008; Ribeiro-Júnior et al. 2006, 2008; Ávila-Pires et al. 2010; Barrio-Amorós et al. 2011; Whitworth & Beirne 2011). In the other domains, C. nigropunctatum is rare or absent in open areas, occupying forested environments, where it is found on the ground, tree trunks, or low vegetation ( Vitt 1991a; Vrcibradic & Rocha 1998; Nogueira et al. 2005; da Silva et al. 2006; Recoder & Nogueira 2007; Uetanabaro et al. 2007; Santana et al. 2008; Silva Jr et al. 2009; Recoder et al. 2011).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Distribution of examined material of Copeoglossum nigropunctatum.