Oxyrhopus rhombifer Dumeril , Bibron & Dumeril , 1854

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

Oxyrhopus rhombifer Dumeril, Bibron & Dumeril, 1854

Natural history notes.

Species of medium size (n = 1), nocturnal and terrestrial ( Marques et al. 2001). An individual was found resting during the day (9:30 h) in a pasture area. This species occurs mainly in open areas ( Cechin 1999, Sawaya et al. 2008), but may be found in forested areas near fields ( Lema 1994, Cardoso 2011). It is a generalist species, feeding mainly on lizards, but also small mammals and snakes ( Cechin 1999, Carreira 2002, Maschio et al. 2003, Sawaya et al. 2008). It is oviparous, with litter varying from two to 12 eggs ( Gaiarsa et al. 2013). No defensive behavior was observed for this species.

Altitudinal variation.

This species is found at a minimum of sea level in Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul, and south of Santa Catarina, and at a maximum of 1330 m a.s.l. in Liberdade, MG ( Bérnils 2009). This study provides a new maximum altitudinal record of the species with an individual found at 1730 m a.s.l., Baependi, MG. The records located below 400 m a.s.l. occurred only from the Prata Basin to Santa Catarina ( Bérnils 2009).

Distribution and habitat.

Northeast, central-west, southeast and southern Brazil (Bahia, Ceará, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraná, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia, Santa Catarina and São Paulo), Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay ( Wallach et al. 2014). The species was predominantly found in areas with open formations of Pampa, plateau fields, rupestrian fields, restingas, and at the southern portions of the cerrado ( Bérnils 2009, Ghizoni-Jr et al. 2009).