Check list of snakes from the Brejos de Altitude of Paraíba and Pernambuco, Brazil

• Published in: Biota Neotropica Vol. 11; no. 3; p. 145
• Main Authors: Filho, Gentil Alves Pereira, Montingelli, Giovanna Gondim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Campinas Instituto Virtual da Biodiversidade 01.07.2011
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Forests; Snakes; Brazil
• ISSN: 1806-129X; 1676-0603

The Atlantic Forest is one of the priority areas for conservation in the world, since exhibits an overwhelming biodiversity of species. Among this biome stands the biogeographic unit located north of San Francisco River, which extends from the state of Alagoas to Rio Grande do Norte. On this portion of Atlantic Forest some isolated fragments of humid forests can be found, inserted in the arid Caatinga, known as Brejos de Altitude or Brejos Nordestinos. There is a total of 43 Brejos distributed in the states of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba and Pernambuco and with the exception of some humid enclaves in the state of Ceará, the snake fauna of these areas are poorly known. Thus, our aim is to evaluate the current status of the snakes that inhabited these areas present on Paraíba and Pernambuco states, furnishing a preliminary list of the species housed on two representative collections concerning this region, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP) and Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB). As a result, we recorded 27 species of snakes showing that this composition includes species primarily distributed in forest and open areas and also species widely distributed in different kind of biomes. We also stated that due to the present deforestation and the use of these areas for agricultural purposes the knowledge of its biodiversity is imperative, especially to generate information that will enable future management and conservation plans for these areas. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]