Micrurus frontalis (Duméril, Bibron and Duméril, 1854), Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril, 1854

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 : 27

Micrurus frontalis (Duméril, Bibron and Duméril, 1854) “Cobra-de-coral, Coral-da-legítima”

(Figs. 11.1 and 23.3)

First record for the Caatinga. This species is known in the Caatinga from only one specimen from Bahia State, municipality of Barreiras, in the contact zone between Caatinga and Cerrado. It was found in lowland areas, 452 m elevation. It also occurs in Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Pantanal ( Marques et al. 2005; Zaher et al. 2009; Nogueira et al. 2010, 2011). Its occurrence was expected in the Caatinga, and Vanzolini et al. (1980) mentioned the possible record of this species for Caatinga from Minas Gerais. Therefore, It can be recorded in other areas in Caatinga- Cerrado contact and in relictual savannas in highlands. The species has fossorial habits, is nocturnal and diurnal, and feeds mostly on elongated vertebrates ( Marques et al. 2005; Sawaya et al. 2008).