Triangle Water Snake

distribution

Distribution. Widespread in the northern portion of South America, in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, and Venezuela, in Amazonian forests (Plt. 292 A). In Brazil, recorded widely in Amazonia and marginally in the Cerrado (Plt. 292 A) at low elevations (Plt. 292 B). Observed in the field in lakes, rivers, and flooded forest and savanna (Scartozzoni, 2010; von May et al., 2019).

Atlas of Brazilian Snakes: Verified Point-Locality Maps to Mitigate the Wallacean Shortfall in a Megadiverse Snake Fauna

materials_examined

Type locality. Lago Tefé, Rio Amazonas, Tefé, state of Amazonas, Brazil.

Atlas of Brazilian Snakes: Verified Point-Locality Maps to Mitigate the Wallacean Shortfall in a Megadiverse Snake Fauna

Hydrops triangularis (Wagler 1824) Wagler 1824

Hydrops triangularis (Wagler, 1824) “Cobra-d’água” (Figs. 15.8 and 28.2) First record in the Caatinga. It was recorded only from the state of Maranhão, municipality of Timon in the northwesterns borders of the Caatinga and contact with Cerrado and Amazonia. It is also distributed in the Amazon Forest and Cerrado regions (Cunha & Nascimento 1978; Martins & Oliveira 1998; Nogueira et al. 2010, 2011). We believe this species can be found in other areas of the Caatinga next to its contact with Cerrado. It is an aquatic snake that inhabits water bodies (Scartozzoni 2009). It is diurnal and nocturnal, and feeds on fishes (Scartozzoni 2009).

Diversity, natural history, and geographic distribution of snakes in the Caatinga, Northeastern Brazil

description

According to Mayr and Ashlock (1991), most subspecies are geographic isolates and the borders of their ranges are easily established. However, the borders of the subspecies under study were not established because of the total absence of intergrades among the samples. The examined groups revealed only a few quantitative differences among the characters under study. We conclude that H. triangularis should not be divided into subspecies. The subspecies of H. triangularis were poorly distinguished based on the number of ventral and subcaudal scales as well as the number of bands on the body and tail. We suggest that these characters were not useful to define the subspecies of H. triangularis.

Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical water snake Hydrops triangularis (Serpentes, Colubridae)