Diversity, natural history, and geographic distribution of snakes in the Caatinga, Northeastern Brazil
Author
Guedes, Thaís B.
Author
Nogueira, Cristiano
Author
Marques, Otavio A. V.
text
Zootaxa
2014
3863
1
1
93
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.3863.1.1
994b97ae-8a03-4726-86f7-ce51e39578a4
1175-5326
287111
A683CABE-4305-47A4-A063-03FDF93182C0
Typhlops brongersmianus
Vanzolini, 1976
“Cobra-cega”
(Figs. 8.7 and 21.3)
Recorded only in the state of Sergipe, next to Parque Nacional Serra de Itabaiana, and in Ceará on the Ibiapaba- Araripe Plateau. It occurs from sea level to
847 m
elevation in the Caatinga. It is widely distributed, recorded in the Atlantic Forest, Amazon, Cerrado, Pantanal, and Pampas (
Martins & Oliveira 1998
;
Cechin 1999
;
Marques
et al
. 2001
;
Marques
et al
. 2005
;
Bérnils
et al.
2008
;
Recoder & Nogueira 2007
;
Sawaya
et al
. 2008
;
Valdujo
et al
. 2009
;
Nogueira
et al
. 2010
). Occurs in moist forested area in Ceará (
Loebmann & Haddad 2010
) and can also be found in open areas of bushy and arboreal caatinga on sandy soil, but with strong influence of adjacent Atlantic Forest in Sergipe (
Carvalho & Vilar 2005
). Records in the Cerrado region are mostly associated to riparian forests and sandy soils (Nogueira
et al.
2011;
Recoder
et al.
2011
). The single record in Caatinga lowlands was in a hydroelectric plant area in Alagoas State, dominated by xerophitic caatinga vegetation. It has fossorial habits, is nocturnal, and feeds mostly on arthropods (
Marques
et al
. 2001
,
2005
).