Xenodon merremii (Wagler, 1824)

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

Xenodon merremii (Wagler, 1824) Figure 4H

Natural history notes.

Species of medium size (n = 1), diurnal and terrestrial ( Marques et al. 2001). In January, an individual was found at 14:00 h crossing an unpaved road in an open area. Prior records indicate this species specialize in anurans, mainly the toxic Rhinella spp. ( Vitt and Vangilder 1983, Jordão 1997). X. merremii has a long reproductive cycle, from the beginning of the dry season to the middle of the rainy season. Fecundity varies between six and 44 eggs with recruitment between January and May ( Pizzatto et al. 2008). As a defensive tactic of X. merremii , we observed the following behavior: body flattening.

Altitudinal variation.

This species is found at a minimum of sea level from the northern coast of Rio Grande do Sul to the extreme south of Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, and Bahia. Maximum altitude recorded is 1300 m a.s.l. in the Parque Estadual de Itacolomi, Ouro Preto, MG ( Bérnils 2009). This study expands the maximum altitudinal record for this species with an individual registered at 1610 m a.s.l. from the Aiuruoca, MG. This species occupies a large variety of habitats, both vegetal and altitudinal. The recorded toponyms corresponds to the altitudinal gradient with 35.3% of toponyms between sea level and 400 m a.s.l., 33.2% between 401 and 800 m a.s.l. and 31.5% above 801 m a.s.l. ( Bérnils 2009).

Distribution and habitat.

North, northeast, central-west, southeast, and southern Brazil (Bahia, Brasília, Ceará, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Pará, Paraiba, Paraná, Pernambuco, Rondônia, São Paulo, and Tocantins), Bolivia and Paraguay ( Wallach et al. 2014). This species occurs mainly in open areas (e.g., Cerrado, Chaco, plateau fields, rocky fields and Caatinga), but is also present in arboreal formations, such as seasonal forests, secondary forests, riverine forests and restingas ( Bérnils 2009).