Bothrops erythromelas (Amaral, 1923)

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 : 24

Bothrops erythromelas (Amaral, 1923) “Jararaca-da-seca, jararaquinha”

(Figs. 9.8 and 22.3)

Caatinga endemic species. It is the single endemic viperid in the Caatinga, being recorded throughout the region. Most records for this species are from low altitude areas, below 600 m elevation, on the semi-arid Caatinga. This is a conspicuous species found in arboreal, bushy, and herbaceous caatinga on yellow-red latosoils with inselbergs and rock outcrops. However, it can be found in contact areas with the northeastern Atlantic Forest, in the states of Rio Grande do Norte ( Natal urban area), Paraíba (João Pessoa arban area), Pernambuco (Torre Madalena), and Bahia (Itaparica) (TBG pers. obs.) perhaps as a result of deforestation of these formerly forested areas. It has terrestrial habits, is nocturnal, and feeds on vertebrates and invertebrates ( Vanzolini et al. 1980; Vitt & Vangilder 1983; Martins et al. 2002; Guedes 2006).