Reptiles from Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Maranhão, northeastern Brazil

Abstract

We are presenting a list of the reptile species from Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (LMNP), Maranhão, Brazil, obtained during 235 days of field work. The study area is located in the contact zone between three major Neotropical ecosystems: Amazonia, Caatinga, and Cerrado. The PNLM encompasses the largest dune fields in Brazil, wide shrubby areas (restingas), lakes, mangroves, and many freshwater lagoons. We have recorded 42 species of reptiles in the area: 24 snakes, 12 lizards, two worm lizards, three turtles, and one alligator. About 81 % of the recorded species occurred only in restinga areas. Our data highlights the uniqueness of the PNLM in the context of the biomes that surround it and shows the importance of efforts to improve the conservation of reptiles living in the restinga, which currently comprise only about 20 % of the total area protected by the park, but which are the mesohabitat containing most of the reptile species in the Lençóis Maranhenses complex of habitats.

A new species of Charax (Ostariophysi, Characiformes, Characidae) from northeastern Brazil

“…This region is an extremely ecologically relevant area since it comprises three of the main Brazilian biomes, as well as, transition zones between them: Amazônia, Brazilian Cerrado and Caatinga. Therefore, this area has faunal and floristic representatives of these three biomes, which makes it extremely relevant in terms of ecology, biodiversity and conservation (Olson, et al 2001;Piorski et al 2008, Fiaschi andPirani 2009;Miranda et al 2012 …”

Herpetofauna of the Northwest Amazon forest in the state of Maranhão, Brazil, with remarks on the Gurupi Biological Reserve

“…); 53 species of snakes for the National Forest of Caxiuanã (at the EC Xingu (Santos-Costa et al 2015); 78 species of amphibians and reptiles in the northern part of the state of Maranhão (Barreto et al 2011). It is noteworthy that the last of these studies includes species of open areas, which are present due to the strong influence of Cerrado vegetation in northern Maranhão, as seen in the inventory of Miranda et al (2012), which lists 42 species of reptiles for the coastal region of Maranhão, which is characterized by open vegetation and the predominance of coastal dunes.…”

“…Among the indicators of the need for wildlife studies in Maranhão are the articles of the last decades that describe new species in Amazonia, especially in the eastern Amazon (Caramaschi 2010; Vaz-Silva et al 2015), as well as the few publications, concentrated mainly on snakes (Cunha and Nascimento 1993; Freitas et al 2014), lizards (Avila-Pires and Vitt 1998; Avila-Pires 1995; Freitas et al 2013) and anurans (Andrade et al 2003; Rodrigues et al 2003; Andrade et al 2011; Barreto et al 2011; Miranda et al 2012; Miranda et al 2013; Matavelli et al 2013; Freitas et al 2014b, c, d; Vaz-Silva et al 2015). …”

Vascular flora of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Maranhão State, Brazil: checklist, floristic affinities and phytophysiognomies of restingas in the municipality of Barreirinhas

“…The sampling was restricted to the municipality of Barreirinhas, within Misael Lira Rodrigues, Nara Furtado de Oliveira Mota, Pedro Lage Viana, Ana Kelly Koch and Ricardo de S. Secco the PNLM, covering 302 hectares. The average annual temperature of the region is 28.5 ºC, with most frequent precipitation in February and May, and a dry season from June to January (Miranda et al 2012;ICMBIO 2016). Considered a transition zone between the semiarid climate and equatorial humidity, the landscape of the Lençóis Maranhenses is shaped by rivers carrying sediments in the direction of the coast, causing the formation of the restingas in these zones.…”