Herpetology Notes, volume 11: 437-439 (2018) (published online on 24 May 2018)

Climbing behaviour in Micrurus altirostris (Cope, 1860) (Serpentes, Elapidae) from an Atlantic rainforest in southern Brazil

Manoela Alberton Getelina1,*, Gilcinéia dos Santos2, Ivanice Busatto2, Rodrigo Ceratto Bortoluzzi3 and Marcelo Carvalho da Rocha3

Coralsnakes are the only neotropical representatives in Derrubadas Municipality, Rio Grande do Sul State, of the family Elapidae (Campbell and Lamar, 2004) and Brazil. The individual was sitting immobile on the the genus Micrurus Wagler 1824 is the most diverse forest floor. The animal was captured to verify the sex of the family (Roze, 1996; Uetz, 2014). Micrurus and released immediately after the verification. The M. altirostris (Cope, 1860) is a fossorial coralsnake altirostris started fleeing into the forest and, when it was (Giraudo, 2001) that occurs in southern Brazil (Paraná, touched again, started climbing into the low branches of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul States), Uruguay, nearby Piperaceae and Bambusaceae bushes (2.5 cm off northeastern Argentina (Misiones, Corrientes and Entre the ground). After climbing to a height of ~83 cm, the Rios Provinces) and eastern Paraguay (Silva and Sites, M. altirostris waited in the branches until the “menace 1999) and uses subterranean galleries for foraging of attack” stopped (about 1 minute), then started moving and shelter. It is active both at night and during the slowly back to the ground. day (Bernarde, 2012) and like many other fossorial Machado et al. (2005) reported a M. altirostris actively elapids, is commonly found before rains (Campbell and foraging in a tree 1.5 m above the ground. Arboreal Lamar, 2004). Several defensive strategies are used by foraging has also been reported in M. fulvius (Carr, Micrurus, including inaccessibility, locomotor escape 1994) and M. tschudii (Campbell and Lamar, 2004), and on or under the ground, aposematic colouration, tail arboreal behaviour of an unknown nature (but probably displays, hiding the head, coiling the body, dorsoventral not defensive) has been reported in M. circinalis (Sadjak, body compression, biting (see Martins 1996), and 2000), M. diastema (Valencia-Herverth et al. 2016), M. cloacal discharge. Here we report defensive escape distans (Suazo-Ortuño et al. 2004), M. nigrocinctus behaviour by climbing in M. altirostris (Figure 1). (Schmidt and Smith, 1943; Campbell and Lamar, 2004), A male M. altirostris (SVL ~ 60 cm) was found on and M. surinamensis (Hartdegen and Anucone, 2001). September 29, 2013 at 16:49 h in a conservation unit Our observation shows that arboreality can also be used of the Atlantic Rain Forest biome (Parque Estadual do as an anti-predation strategy under some circumstances. Turvo- PET, 27° 07’ – 27° 16’S, 53° 48’ – 54° 04’W) Defensive behaviour is used to avoid injuries and deter predation (Endler, 1986; Martins, 1996) and it is widely known in fossorial snakes (Sazima and Abe, 1991; Marques et al. 2006), although the role of climbing in 1 Universidade Comunitária da Regiao de Chapecó, Unochapecó, the anti-predator behaviour of brightly-coloured, semi- Chapecó, Av. Senador Atílio Fontana, 591-E EFAPI- CEP: fossorial snakes may be underappreciated. Although 89809-000, Chapecó, SC, Brazil. Micrurus lack the large eyes and long tails of many 2 Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto Uruguai e das Missões, arboreal and semi-arboreal snakes (Di-Bernardo et URI Câmpus de Frederico Westphalen. Rua Assis Brasil, 709, al., 2002; Bernarde, 2012) and usually prey on other CEP 98400-000, Frederico Westphalen, RS, Brazil. fossorial or terrestrial snakes (including colubrids and 3 Pós-graduanda em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências typhlopids) as well as on amphisbaenians and small Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Avenida Roraima 1000, prédio 17, sala 1140, Camobi. CEP lizards (Martins and Oliveira, 1998; Campbell and 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. Lamar, 2004, Bernarde, 2012), arboreal behaviour in * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] primarily fossorial snakes is not unprecedented (e.g., 438 Manoela Alberton Getelina et al.

Figure 1. Male Micrurus altirostris climbing on the branches after being manipulated in Brazil’s southern rainforest (Photo: Gilcinéia dos Santos).

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Accepted by Andrew Durso