New record of an alien snake Pantherophis guttatus (Squamata: Colubridae) in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil

Abstract

The snake Pantherophis guttatus (Linnaeus, 1766), popularly known as the corn snake, it is a semi-arboreal snake belonging to the Colubridae family, small in size (about 1800 mm in total length), distributed throughout North America, inhabiting forested, open and urban environments preying on small mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles (Fisher and Csurhes, 2009; Hammerson 2007). It is sold as a pet in many countries and, according to Magalhães and São-Pedro (2012), pet escapes and abandonments are the main cause of this species introduction in natural environments. In Brazil, it has been registered so far by Fonseca et al. (2014) in a Conservation Unit and in an urban area located in a residential complex, both in the Atlantic Rainforest domain in the state of Bahia. The aim of this study was, therefore, to document another P. guttatus record, the first in a natural environment in the state of Pernambuco.