Checklist of mammals from Goiás, central Brazil

Abstract

The state of Goiás, in central Brazil, is covered mainly by the Cerrado domain, with the Alto Paraná Atlantic Forest occupying its central-southern portion. Goiás is one of the 20 Brazilian federative units without a mammal checklist. In this study, we provide the first checklist of mammals from Goiás state. We recorded mammal species based primarily on the analysis of specimens housed in scientific collections as well as on literature with associated voucher material. We listed 191 mammalian species belonging to 125 genera, 31 families and 10 orders, which represents 25.2% of the mammal species occurring in Brazil. The most speciose orders were Chiroptera (90 spp.), followed by Rodentia (43 spp.), Carnivora (19 spp.) and Didelphimorphia (17 spp.). The following orders accounted for a smaller portion of the state diversity: Cetartiodactyla (7 spp.), Cingulata (7 spp.), Primates (4 spp.), Pilosa (2 spp.), Lagomorpha (1 sp.), and Perissodactyla (1 sp.). A total of 28 species (14.7%), mainly represented by medium and large-sized mammals, are nationally threatened while 12 (6.3%) are globally threatened. Our results indicate great portions of the state lacking a proper survey of mammals, especially the northwestern portion. We discuss species richness, distribution and conservation status of the mammals of Goiás state in national and regional scenarios. We highlight the need for mammal inventories based on complementary survey techniques with the collection of vouchers in order to provide karyologic, molecular, morphologic, parasitologic, and ecological data. These informations are the basis for integrative studies that lead to the understanding of current mammalian richness and diversity. Indeed, knowledge on species richness distribution in the state will guide conservation strategies, especially in areas undergoing habitat loss and fragmentation, such as the central-southern portion of Goiás.

Habitat Heterogeneity and Geographic Location as Major Drivers of Cerrado Small Mammal Diversity Across Multiple Spatial Scales

“…Inventories based on standardized sampling design and high capture effort, with the use of complementary sampling methodologies in poorly surveyed areas, are highly recommended [e.g., central and eastern Mato Grosso (Brandão et al, 2019); southeastern and western Goiás (Hannibal et al, 2021); central Minas Gerais and eastern Mato Grosso do Sul (Mendonça et al, 2018)], as shown here, to provide robust datasets and increased knowledge on species diversity and distribution in the biome. The collection of vouchers and tissue samples, as well as karyotype data from the surveyed small mammals, is the basis for the description of new taxa (e.g., Bonvicino et al, 2014a;Brandão et al, 2021).…”