Epicrates crassus Cope, 1862

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 : 23

Epicrates crassus Cope, 1862 “Salamanta, Cobra-arco-íris”

(Figs. 9.5 and 22.2)

Recorded only in northern Minas Gerais, municipalities of Manga and Mato Verde, 440 and 541 m of elevation respectively. These records are located next to the Cerrado contact area, and the vegetation of this area is bushy and arboreal caatinga in contact with cerrado savannas. This species is considered a Cerrado endemic species ( Nogueira et al. 2010, 2011), with wide distribution in central Brazilian open areas ( Passos & Fernandes 2008; Recoder et al. 2011). We do not exclude possible future records for other localities along the Caatinga-Cerrado contact zone, in the states of Bahia, Piauí, and Maranhão. It has semi-arboreal habits, is nocturnal, and feeds on vertebrates ( Marques et al. 2005).