Species richness and distribution patterns of the snake fauna of Rio Grande do Norte state, northeastern Brazil.

RICARDO MARQUES,THAÍS BARRETO GUEDES,DANIEL CUNHA PASSOS,ADRIAN ANTONIO GARDA,WILLIANILSON PESSOA DA SILVA,FLÁVIA MOL LANNA

doi:10.1590/0001-3765202120191265

Abstract

The Neotropics are one of the richest regions in biodiversity globally. Still, much remains unknown about the mechanisms and processes responsible for the accumulation of species in this region. Among the many limitations on our current knowledge on the region's biodiversity, understanding of community composition and species distributions is limited and greatly biased in many Brazilian regions. We present information on species composition, habitat use, geographic distribution, taxonomic accounts, and conservation of snakes from Rio Grande do Norte state, Northeastern Brazil. We compiled, from primary and literature data, 851 snake records from seven families and 47 species, with five new records for the state. Species are mainly terrestrial and semi-arboreal and associated with at least six vegetation types from Caatinga and Atlantic Forest domains. None of the species is listed in threatened categories of IUCN, while two species are listed in the Brazilian Threatened Fauna list. Our data covers 32.34% of the state's area, a consequence of locally limited inventories and lack of long-term studies on snakes' fauna. The richest areas within the state are near large cities, which lack protected areas for the species they harbor, and highlights the necessity of protective policies and conservation actions.

Highlights

Biodiversity is not distributed across Earth, varying significantly among and within geographic regions and taxa
Philodryas nattereri, Micrurus aff. ibiboboca, and Oxyrhopus trigeminus are widespread in RN and were recorded in 22, 16, and 15 municipalities, respectively (Figure 7)
Snake richness and habitat use overview in Rio Grande do Norte. This is the largest compilation of snake records for Rio Grande do Norte to date, and we generate detailed maps of snake occurrences and patterns of species richness, along with quantifying sampling gaps

Summary

Introduction

Biodiversity is not distributed across Earth, varying significantly among and within geographic regions and taxa. Understanding the mechanisms and processes that generate and maintain the Neotropical hyper-diversity has been an important target in research and a challenge since 19th century naturalists began to study the region. Nowadays, this effort is still a central goal for researchers in systematic, ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology (Rull 2011, Hughes et al 2013). Knowledge about the identity and distribution of species is biased (the Wallacean Shortfall), which compromises our capacity to synthesize knowledge of existing biodiversity, leading to misidentification of ecological and evolutionary processes and inefficient conservation strategies (Lomolino 2004, Hortal et al 2015)

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Conclusion