Biodiversity
< Back
Mussurana
Clelia plumbea | Wied, 1820
PHOTO: Property of Native / Embrapa
Characteristics: Medium-size serpent measuring about 1m in length. Black coloring with a shade of lead and a light-colored belly as an adult. Juveniles are red, with a black and a white stripe on its head, and often confused for and called coral snakes. Its dentition is opisthoglyphous (there is the tooth that inoculates venom; however, it is located deep in the back of its mouth), making it difficult to inoculate the poison, so it is considered non-poisonous.
Distribution: It is widely distributed in Brazil and can be found in the Southern, Southeastern, Central and Northwestern regions.
Habitat: Open formations, such as savannas and scrublands.
Habits: Terrestrial and preferably nocturnal. When threatened, it makes erratic movements (a brute, repeated change in posture) and hides its head.
Diet: Lizards and other snakes (ophiophagous).
Breeding: Oviparous.
UFRA: Species spotted only in Wetlands with Herbaceous Plants.