Tantilla melanocephala (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 : 35

Tantilla melanocephala (Linnaeus, 1758)

(Figs. 13.2 and 26.1)

Recorded in all states of the Caatinga, except Rio Grande do Norte, probably as a result of sampling gaps. It was found in low and high altitudes (up to 1000 m elevation). Besides the Caatinga, it is widely distributed in Atlantic Forest, Amazon Forest, Cerrado, Pantanal, and Pampas ( Cunha & Nascimento 1978; Strüssmann & Sazima 1993; Martins & Oliveira 1998; Cechin 1999; Marques et al. 2001; Lema 2002a; Argôlo 2004; Colli 2005; Marques et al. 2005; Marques et al. 2005; Bérnils et al. 2008; Sawaya et al. 2008; Nogueira et al. 2010; Zaher et al. 2011). This species was recorded in interfluvial savannas, in the Cerrado ( Sawaya et al. 2008; Recoder et al. 2011). Inside Caatinga, It seems be found on all kinds of vegetation described in this study. It has terrestrial habits, is diurnal and nocturnal, and feeds on chilopods ( Cunha & Nascimento 1978; Martins & Oliveira 1998; Argôlo 2004; Marques et al. 2005; Sawaya et al. 2008).