New record of Cercosaura ocellata Wagler, 1830 (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae) in northeastern Brazil, with a distribution map for the species in South America

Abstract

Herein, we provide a new record of Cercosaura ocellata Wagler, 1830 in the Atlantic Forest biome, northeastern Brazil, and a distribution map for the species in South America. The new record was in Extremoz municipality, state of Rio Grande do Norte, filling a gap in the known geographic distribution of the species between the states of Ceará and Pernambuco.

DISTRIBUTION EXTENSION AND NEW RECORDS FOR Cercosaura olivacea (GRAY, 1845) (SQUAMATA: GYMNOPHTHALMIDAE) IN NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL

“…Although C. olivacea has been considered as the most widely distributed species of the genus, there are still many gaps throughout its areas of occurrence, mainly in northeastern Brazil (Sales et al 2014, Sturaro et al 2018. Thus, herein we provide a new state record for Cercosaura olivacea and new records for the species in the state of Pernambuco and Sergipe, including the first record of occurrence in the Caatinga ecoregion.…”

“…Cercosaura olivacea is widely distributed throughout South America and many distributional gaps remained to be fulfilled (e.g. Oliveira & Moura 2013, Sales et al 2014, Sturaro et al 2018. In the Caatinga ecoregion, a tropical dry forest with a dry climate and xeromorphic vegetation endemic to Brazil (Assis 2000), the species was known to occur in brejo de altitude (highland humid forest remnants scattered throughout the semiarid lowlands) in the Planalto de Ibiapaba, state of Ceará (Borges-Nojosa & Caramaschi 2003).…”