Abstract
The reptile diversity of the Middle Gurguéia River Basin in southern Piauí, Brazil, is little known. The rapid expansion of agriculture in the region is converting the Cerrado and Caatinga into large farming areas, which threatens biodiversity and hastens its loss. In this study, 68 specimens of reptiles from a university collection were examined, comprising 29 species: ten lizards, one amphisbaenian, 15 snakes, two turtles and one crocodilian. They were collected from five locations in the Middle Gurguéia Basin, a region not previously evaluated for reptiles. The most abundant species is a member of Tropidurus. Comparison with eight other areas in the eastern Parnaíba Basin indicated that the diversity of reptiles in the Middle Gurguéia is similar to that in other Caatinga-Cerrado ecotone areas. The reptile assemblage in the eastern Parnaíba Basin comprises 100 species of reptiles: 39 lizards, five amphisbaenians, 50 snakes, four chelonians and two crocodilians. This study expanded the known distributions of some reptiles and recorded the first occurrence of Helicops leopardinus (Schlegel, 1837) for Piauí. A cluster analysis showed that the reptile composition concords with the habitat where species were found, i.e. Cerrado, Caatinga or ecotone. Studies that associate habitat structure with each species are essential to propose efficient strategies for reptile management and conservation for the entire Parnaíba River Basin, mostly in areas that are not yet protected.
Highlights
Knowledge of the biodiversity of the Cerrado, Caatinga and ecotone areas has increased, the fauna of these vegetation complexes is still little known and many areas have never been inventoried (Rodrigues, 2005a)
Southern Piauí State is among the Brazilian regions most coveted by agribusiness (Reydon & Monteiro, 2006) Here we provide a list of reptiles for the Middle Gurguéia region (MG) and a cluster analysis of the reptile species composition within the MG, comparing with eight previous inventories in the eastern Parnaíba River Basin in the state
Among the lizards collected in MG, the most abundant was Tropidurus hispidus (11 specimens), recorded in Bom Jesus (BJ), Cristino Castro (CC) and Palmeira do Piauí (PP), followed by Tropidurus semitaeniatus, recorded in MG, CO, CA and UU
Summary
Knowledge of the biodiversity of the Cerrado, Caatinga and ecotone areas has increased, the fauna of these vegetation complexes is still little known and many areas have never been inventoried (Rodrigues, 2005a). Reptilia is a well-understood group, but in the five largest Brazilian collections, reptiles from many key areas and ecosystems are not represented (Rodrigues, 2005b). Madella-Auricchio, C.R. et al.: Reptile species composition of Parnaíba River Basin, Piauí, Brazil known Crocodilia, the number of Brazilian reptile species is still underestimated, due to insufficient inventories and the small number of taxonomists (Rodrigues, 2005b). Records from the Caatinga show 47 lizards, ten amphisbaenians, 112 snakes (Guedes et al, 2014), four chelonians and three crocodilians, totaling 176 species (Rodrigues, 2005b)
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