Anilius scytale (Linnaeus, 1758)

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 : 18

Anilius scytale (Linnaeus, 1758) “Falsa-coral”

(Figs. 8.1 and 21.1)

The single record of this species for the Caatinga region is in the municipality of Crato, Araripe Plateau, Ceará State, 426 m elevation. It is widely distributed in Amazonia ( Cunha & Nascimento 1978; Martins & Oliveira 1998; Maschio et al. 2010), with marginal records in the northern portion of the Cerrado region ( Nogueira et al. 2010, 2011). We have no information on habitat use in the Caatinga, but this snake is a typical of humid, wet forested areas in Amazonia ( Cunha & Nascimento 1978; Martins & Oliveira 1998; Maschio et al. 2010), extending through gallery forests in the northern portion of the Cerrado ( Nogueira et al. 2010, 2011). Thus, this species would be probably associated with relictual humid forest enclaves within Caatinga highlands, as mentioned by Ribeiro et al. (2012). The species has fossorial habits, is nocturnal and diurnal, and feeds mostly on elongated vertebrates ( Cunha & Nascimento 1978; Martins & Oliveira 1998; Maschio et al. 2010).