Abstract
The Serra do Urubu mountain range is considered a key biodiversity area. It is situated in the Pernambuco Endemism Center, one of the most threatened regions of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. However, despite the high importance of this area little research on its herpetofauna has been performed. The present study presents an inventory of the herpetofauna of the region, through bibliographic review, searches in museum collections and field expeditions to the RPPNs Frei Caneca and Pedra D’Antas, in the municipalities of Jaqueira and Lagoa dos Gatos. The conservation status of the amphibians of the region is discussed. Five expeditions, between 2012 and 2013 were made. The methods employed were visual transect surveys, acoustic census and pitfall traps. We recorded a total of 46 amphibian species, belonging to nine families: Craugastoridae (3 spp.), Bufonidae (3 spp.), Ranidae (1 sp.), Hylidae (25 spp.), Leptodactylidae (8 spp.), Odontophrynidae (1 sp.), Hemiphractidae (2 spp.), Phyllomedusidae (2 spp.) and Microhylidae (1 sp.). We recorded 42 species of squamates: 16 species of lizards families Phyllodactylidae (1 sp.), Gekkonidae (1 sp.), Gymnophthalmidae (1 sp.), Polychrotidae (1 sp.), Leiosauridae (1 sp.), Tropiduridae (3 spp.), Dactyloidae (2 spp.), Diploglossidae (2 spp.), Teiidae (2 spp.), Scincidae (1 sp.), and Iguanidae (1 sp.); and 24 species of snakes: Boidae (3 spp.), Colubridae (2 spp.), Dipsadidae (13 spp.), Elapidae (2 spp.), Typhlopidae (1 sp.), and Viperidae (3 spp.). The occurrence of rare and/or threatened species such as the snakes Dipsas sazimai, Lachesis muta and Sibynomorphus sp. and the amphibians Hylomantis granulosa, Chiasmocleis alagoana, Boana freicanecae and Phyllodytes gyrinaethes reinforces the need for conservation measures at this highly threatened region of the Atlantic Forest.
Highlights
The Atlantic Forest is a global hotspot of biodiversity and one of the most threatened biomes worldwide (Myers et al, 2000), sheltering high levels of endemic species with restricted distribution
The present study aims to determine the composition, and the distribution of the herpetofauna of the the Serra do Urubu mountain range, a remnant of Atlantic Forest withinthe Pernambuco Endemism Center, and to discuss the conservation status of the herpetofauna in the area
We found three endangered species in RPPN Pedra D’Antas: Hylomantis granulosa which is classified as vulnerable by (MMA, 2014), Chiasmocleis alagoana, and Phyllodytes gyrinaethes classified as critically endangered
Summary
The Atlantic Forest is a global hotspot of biodiversity and one of the most threatened biomes worldwide (Myers et al, 2000), sheltering high levels of endemic species with restricted distribution (see Silva & Castelleti, 2003; Haddad & Prado, 2005; Haddad et al, 2013). The fauna and flora of this sub-biogegraphical region are more closely related to Amazonia than to the southern Atlantic Forest (Santos et al, 2007; Canedo & Haddad, 2012; Fouquet et al, 2012). This is the most fragmented and threatened region in the Atlantic Forest, with only 2% (360.455 hectares) of original forest cover left, of which only 3.371 are protected in Conservation Units (Brown & Brown, 1992; Ribeiro et al, 2009). Most of the publications on the herpetofauna of the altitudinal seasonal tropical forest of the PEC, deal with species descriptions (e.g., Carnaval & Peixoto, 2004a; Rodrigues et al, 2005; Freire et al, 2010; Passos et al, 2010; Gonçalves et al, 2012); faunal inventories and natural history (e.g., Santos & Carnaval, 2002; Silva et al, 2006; Santana et al, 2008; Santos & Santos, 2011; Moura et al, 2011; Roberto et al, 2015) or geographical distributional records (e.g., Santos & Amorim, 2010; Santos & Santos, 2010; Vilela et al, 2011; Rodrigues et al, 2013a,b)
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