Abstract
The Atlantic Forest is one of the largest and richest tropical rainforests on the planet, being one of the 25 world priorities for conservation. The Atlantic Forest portion located north of the São Francisco River corresponds to the Pernambuco Endemism Center (PEC). We describe the snake composition of the PEC, providing information about the diversity, natural history and geographical distribution of the species, based on records from five scientific collections and additional information from the literature. A total of 78 species of snakes distributed in eight families was registered in the Pernambuco Endemism Center. The Caatinga is the Brazilian biome that most shares species with the PEC, followed by Cerrado. On the other hand, seven species are considered endemic of this region. Most of the snake species in the PEC have been registered in forest (94.8%), followed by “Brejos Nordestinos” (46.1%), Tabuleiros (43.5%), Restingas (14.1%) and Mangroves (5.1%). The PEC snake fauna includes mainly terrestrial species (60.2%) and cryptozoic and/or fossorial species (21.7%), but also presents a high richness of semi-arboreal and arboreal species (29.5%). Vertebrates are the main food item consumed by the species (78% of species), among the main prey are mammals, lizards, and amphibians. Most species show a strictly nocturnal activity period (50%), followed by strictly diurnal (38%). The PEC is the most degraded and least known region of the Atlantic Forest, yet it has revealed a high richness of snake species, including seven endemic species. It is emphasized that regional conservation efforts need to be intensified, because few forests in the region are formally protected, and the majority consist of small and poorly protected fragments, which means that many species in the region may be in risk of extinction.
Highlights
The Atlantic Forest is considered one of the 25 priority areas for conservation worldwide (Myers et al 2000)
Our results show a broad view of Pernambuco Endemism Center (PEC)’s snake fauna, including distribution data, natural history, and diversity
According to Marques et al (2019), about 142 species of snakes occur in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, the 78 species recorded in the PEC represent 51.3% of this total, which we can consider a high richness
Summary
The Atlantic Forest is considered one of the 25 priority areas for conservation worldwide (Myers et al 2000). Practically the entire Brazilian coast was occupied by European colonization, it was in the northeast that the Atlantic Forest was more rapidly degraded, due to the economic cycle of brazilwood and sugar cane (Coimbra-Filho and Câmara 1996) This degradation is even more evident in the portion of the Atlantic Forest located north of the São Francisco River, where an important center of endemism is located in South America – The Pernambuco Endemism Center (hereafter PEC) (Prance 1982, Silva and Casteleti 2003). In the midst of this scenario, the PEC is considered the most devastated, least known and least protected sector of the Atlantic Forest, being one of the regions on the planet where conservation efforts are most urgent (Coimbra-Filho and Câmara 1996, Tabarelli et al 2002, 2005)
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