Apostolepis assimilis (Reinhardt, 1861)

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

Apostolepis assimilis (Reinhardt, 1861) Figure 4B

Natural history notes.

Species of small size (n = 1), with nocturnal activity and cryptozoic or fossorial habits ( Ferrarezzi et al. 2005, Marques et al. 2015). In December, an adult was seen at 07:30 h. moving in an open area. The record occurred in Aiuruoca-MG, near the PESP. The diet is composed of amphisbaenids and other elongate vertebrates ( Ferrarezzi et al. 2005). Barbo (2011) mentions two females with four and six vitellogenic follicles in November and March. No defensive behavior was observed for this species.

Altitudinal variation.

This species was found at a minimum of 170 m a.s.l., in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso and maximum of 1610 m a.s.l. in Campos do Jordão, SP ( Bérnils 2009). In this study, the record occurred outside the park limits at 1100 m a.s.l., in Aiuruoca, MG.

Distribution and habitat.

Northeast, central-west, southeast and southern Brazil (Bahia, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, Distrito Federal, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná), southeast Paraguay, northern Argentina, and Bolivia ( Bérnils 2009; Wallach et al. 2014). This species is typical of the Cerrado morphoclimatic domain, also occurring in adjacent forested areas ( Ferrarezzi et al. 2005).