We provide a list of amphibians, lizards, chelonians, and snakes collected during a 30-day expedition to the Serra da Capivara National Park, Piauí State, Brazil. Thirty-seven pitfall trap arrays composed of 4 buckets each, along with glue traps, funnel traps, and haphazard searches, were used to sample the herpetofaunal diversity. We recorded 17 species of lizards, 1 caecilian, 1 chelonian, 7 frogs, and 11 snakes. Rarefaction curves suggest that local biodiversity is still underestimated. An atypical drought during the period of study may have contributed to lower captures of certain groups, especially amphibians and snakes. The presence of water-dependent and forest-dependent species within local canyons (“Boqueirões”) suggests that these areas harbor faunas associated with relictual rainforest fragments and need to be better studied and managed accordingly.

Ecomorphological theory indicates that different ecological requirements lead to different organismal designs. Given that species with equal requirements could not coexist, traits leading to more efficient use of resources may be selected to avoid competition among closely related syntopic species, generating specialized ecomorphs. We compared habitat use, diet, thermal biology and morphology among the syntopic Tropidurus semitaeniatus, T. helenae and T. hispidus in the Caatinga of Northeastern Brazil. Tropidurus semitaeniatus and T. helenae are flattened lizards specialized to rocks and rock crevices, whereas T. hispidus has a robust body and generalist habits. We aimed to test the hypothesis that morphological modifications observed in the flattened ecomorphs are related to modifications in diet and habitat use. Also, we hypothesized that specialization to habitat induces morphological modifications, which in turn may constrain lizard performance. Flattened species differed in habitat use, morphology and prey size when compared with the generalist ecomorph. Morphological modifications were related to specializations to rocky habitats and constrained the variety of prey items consumed. This phenotype also reduced their reproductive output when compared with a robust, generalist ecomorph.

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<p style="text-align: justify;"><em>Oxybelis aeneus</em> (Wagler, 1824) é uma espécie de serpente arborícola de ampla distribuição no continente americano cuja dieta é composta principalmente por vertebrados, como lagartos. Diversas espécies de lagartos já foram reportadas como presas desta serpente, incluindo a espécie exótica <em>Hemidactylus mabouia</em> (Moreau de Jonnèes, 1818). Aqui descrevemos em detalhes um evento de predação de <em>H. mabouia</em> por <em>O. aeneus</em>,  ampliando o conhecimento acerca da história natural  de ambas as espécies à literatura científica.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Palavras chave</strong>: Dieta, ecologia alimentar, lagarto, presa, serpente.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Abstract</strong>: <em>Oxybelis aeneus</em> (Wagler, 1824) is an arboreal snake species that is widely distributed in the American continent whose diet is composed mainly by vertebrates, such as lizards. Several lizard species have already been reported as prey of this snake, including the alien species <em>Hemidactylus mabouia</em> (Moreau de Jones, 1818). Herein we describe in details a predation event of <em>H. mabouia</em> by <em>O. aeneus</em>, widening our knowledge regarding the natural history of both species to scientific literature.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Key words</strong>: Diet, feed ecology, lizard, prey, snake.</p>

Occurrence of Amblyomma sp. (Acari: Ixodidae) in Tropidurus hispidus (Spix, 1825) (Squamata: Tropiduridae) in Parque Nacional Serra de Itabaiana, Sergipe, Brazil. Pesquisa e Ensino em Ciências Exatas e da Natureza, 1(2): 99-103. Ocorrência de Amblyomma sp. (Acari: Ixodidae) em Tropidurus hispidus (Spix, 1825) (Squamata: Tropiduridae) no Parque Nacional Serra de Itabaiana, Sergipe, Brasil Resumo: Lagartos frequentemente são parasitados por espécies de Acari (ácaros e carrapatos). No presente estudo relatamos a ocorrência de Amblyomma sp. (carrapato) parasitando um indivíduo juvenil de Tropidurus hispidus (Spix, 1825). A observação foi realizada no Parque Nacional Serra de Itabaiana (PNSI) no estado de Sergipe, nordeste do Brasil. Palavras chave: Parasita, carrapato, Amblyomma, bolsa de ácaro, Tropidurus.Abstract: Lizards are often parasitized by Acari species (mites and ticks). In this study we report the occurrence of a specimen of tick (Amblyomma sp.) parasitizing a juvenile individual of Tropidurus hispidus (Spix, 1825) in Parque Nacional Serra de Itabaiana (PNSI) in the state of Sergipe, northeastern Brazil.