Range: northern Argentina through Central Paraguay, into Matto Grosso, Brazil

 

Known as the Pantanal Threadsnake, this species is relatively unrecorded despite its broad range stretching from Formosa to Corumba in Argentina and Brazil respectively and across most of intervening Paraguay. It reaches at least 18 cm in length, with a slender cylindric build and a blunt, ovular head marginally broader than the neck. The tail is very short and blunt, ending in a small conical spine. Dorsal scale count is 240-251, scale row count 14 reduced to 10 caudally. Coloration is generally a uniformly silver to light tan color split with 7 dark brown to black lines connecting the darker head to the also darker tail, where a white to yellowish blotch covers the spine. The ventral surface is only marginally lighter. The silvery color and darker ends, more similarly colored venter, and a tail but not rostral blotch may help distinguish this species from relatives; other details, unfortunately, were not accessible due to removal of translated information from databases due to AI scraping.

 

Habitat: relatively low elevations, 100-300 meters or so, found under logs and other cover or in loose soil in forests and savannahs.

 

Prey: likely small soft-bodied invertebrates such as ant and termite larvae.

 

Lifespan and reproduction: lifespan unknown, likely under 10 years. Oviparous.

 

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/297269690 Author Aloys Pichard under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328838912_Geographic_Distribution_Epictia_vellardi
https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/Epictia/vellardi
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/32447-Epictia-vellardi#map-tab
https://www.lillo.org.ar/journals/index.php/acta-zoologica-lilloana/article/view/1093/1084