Helicops leopardinus (Schlegel, 1837)

Guedes, Thaís B., Nogueira, Cristiano & Marques, Otavio A. V., 2014, Diversity, natural history, and geographic distribution of snakes in the Caatinga, Northeastern Brazil, Zootaxa 3863 (1), pp. 1-93 : 42

Helicops leopardinus (Schlegel, 1837) “Cobra-d’água, Jararaca-d’água”

(Figs. 15.6 and 28.3)

Recorded in all portions of the Caatinga, except in Rio Grande do Norte, probably due to limited sampling. Recorded up to 750 m elevation, but most records are in areas below 500 m of elevation. It is widely distributed in the Amazon Forest, Pantanal, and Cerrado regions ( Cunha & Nascimento 1978; Martins & Oliveira 1998; Marques et al. 2005; Nogueira et al. 2010). Inside the Cerrado It was found in water bodies surrounded by riparian forests ( Recoder et al. 2011). Inside Caatinga, as an aquatic snake, its distribution is determined by the presence of water bodies and dependent of drainage system (see Rodrigues 2005). It is diurnal and nocturnal, and feeds on frogs and fishes ( Scartozzoni 2009).