We present a list of the anuran amphibians from “restinga” of Grumari, part of the Parque Natural Municipal de Grumari (PNMG), Rio de Janeiro municipality, state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. This study was carried out from May 2009 to December 2010 using two active sampling methods: quadrant plots and acoustic/visual transects. We recorded 22 anuran species distributed in six families: Bufonidae (1 species), Craugastoridae (1), Hylidae (14), Leptodactylidae (3), Microhylidae (2) and Strabomantidae (1). The presence of endangered and endemic species evidence Grumari’s importance as an area for conservation of the “restinga” habitat remnants in Rio de Janeiro. Grumari is also one of the richest known areas in terms of amphibian species among the “restinga” areas studied to date in Brazil, second only to Mata de São João, Bahia.

Amblyomma rotundatum Koch is a parthenogenetic tick usually associated with reptiles and amphibians. However, relatively few studies on occurrences of ticks in wild reptile populations in Brazil have been produced. The aim of this study was to analyze the presence of ticks associated with reptile species in the Grussaí restinga, in the municipality of São João da Barra, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Between December 2010 and January 2011, 131 individuals belonging to nine species of reptiles of the order Squamata were sampled: the lizards Tropidurus torquatus (n = 51), Hemidactylus mabouia (n = 25), Mabuya agilis (n = 30), Mabuya macrorhyncha (n = 6), Cnemidophorus littoralis (n = 5) and Ameiva ameiva (n = 10); and the snakes Philodryas olfersii (n = 2), Oxyrhopus rhombifer (n = 1) and Micrurus corallinus (n = 1). The only tick species found to be associated with any of the reptiles sampled was A. rotundatum. One adult female was detected on one individual of the lizard A. ameiva, one nymph on one individual of the lizard T. torquatus and four nymphs on one individual of the snake P. olfersii. This study is the first record of parasitism of A. rotundatum involving the reptiles T. torquatus and P. olfersii as hosts. Our results suggest that in the Grussaí restinga habitat, A. rotundatum may use different species of reptiles to complete its life cycle.

Ilha Grande is a large continental island (total area of 19,300 ha) situated at the southern coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in southeast Brazil, within the Atlantic Forest Biome. Here we provide an update to the previous knowledge of the fauna of amphibians and reptiles occurring in Ilha Grande, based on primary data from our own fieldwork and on secondary data (from institutional collections and from the literature). We report the occurrence at Ilha Grande of a total of 74 species, being 34 amphibians (all of them anurans) and 40 reptiles (27 snakes, 11 lizards, one amphisbaenian and one crocodylian). Our survey added 14 species to the herpetofaunal list of Ilha Grande (three of amphibians and eleven of reptiles) and removed one species (the amphibian Cycloramphus fuliginosus) from the previous list. The data indicated that Ilha Grande houses a considerable portion of the Atlantic Forest amphibian and reptile diversity (ca. 6% and 19%, respectively, of the species occurring in this biome) together with high occurrence of species endemic to this biome plus a few amphibian species endemic to this island. Ilha Grande is thus an important reservoir of both biodiversity and endemism of amphibians and reptiles of the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, which highlights the importance of the conservation of the island and of its different habitats along the insular landscape.

The knowledge on the insular reptile fauna from Ilha Grande (state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is mostly restricted to the results of surveys carried out within a limited area, considering the island’s total area of 19,300 ha. Until now, the number of reptile species reported for Ilha Grande amounted to 25 (nine lizards and 16 snakes). Here we present the first records of two lizard species (Anolis punctatus and Tropidurus torquatus) for the island, raising the local reptile list to 27 species. The first one appears to be rare in the area, whereas the second species was found in a portion of the island that has not been previously surveyed for reptiles. Although the presence of T. torquatus in other insular environments may be related to anthropogenic introduction, we believe the population in Ilha Grande to be natural, considering the geological history of the island.