Overview

The Museum of Science of the University of Coimbra houses an abundant collection of Brazil's natural history that mirrors the enormous diversity of species of the country. This lecture we will begin with the collection of snakes and serpents preserved in liquid medium on display in the Gallery of Natural History and will then travel to the Brazilian northeast Caatinga. It is in this particular biome that we will find species like the Jararaca (Bothrops erythromelas), the Rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus), the Cobra coral (Micrurus ibiboboca).

Going through human perception and popular knowledge about the snakes that inhabit the Caatinga, we will get acquainted the main characteristics of these reptiles, their ecological importance and some stories - not always true! - of comings and goings between snakes and humans.

Speaker: Mikaelle Costa (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil)

Lecture under the series «Objectos com história»