Types of jiboinhas

Tropidodryas is a genus of snakes in the family Colubridae, the largest and most diverse snake family in the world. Our database holds two species, Tropidodryas serra, often called the Serra snake, and Tropidodryas striaticeps, sometimes called Jiboinha. Both are endemic to Brazil, meaning they are found there and nowhere else, and they are tied to the Atlantic Forest region along the country's southeastern coast and interior.

These are mid-sized, slender snakes adapted to life in and around forest vegetation. In general terms they have keeled scales, large eyes, and a build that supports moving through leaf litter, low brush, and trees. Coloration runs to browns and grays with darker patterning that breaks up the body against bark and litter. A notable behavior recorded in the genus is caudal luring, where a young snake twitches the tip of its tail to mimic a moving insect or worm and draw small prey within striking range. They feed largely on small vertebrates such as frogs, lizards, and small rodents, and like most colubrids they lay eggs.

Members of Tropidodryas are not front-fanged venomous snakes and are not considered dangerous to people. Some colubrids carry mild rear-fang secretions used to subdue small prey, and these are not a medical concern for humans, but the general rule still holds: do not handle wild snakes, since identification mistakes and defensive bites happen. If anyone is bitten by a snake they cannot confidently identify and symptoms develop, treat it as a medical situation and contact emergency services or, in the United States, Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.