Species richness and distribution patterns of the snake fauna of Rio Grande do Norte state, northeastern Brazil

Abstract

The Neotropics are one of the richest regions in biodiversity globally. Still, much remains unknown about the mechanisms and processes responsible for the accumulation of species in this region. Among the many limitations on our current knowledge on the region's biodiversity, understanding of community composition and species distributions is limited and greatly biased in many Brazilian regions. We present information on species composition, habitat use, geographic distribution, taxonomic accounts, and conservation of snakes from Rio Grande do Norte state, Northeastern Brazil. We compiled, from primary and literature data, 851 snake records from seven families and 47 species, with fi ve new records for the state. Species are mainly terrestrial and semi-arboreal and associated with at least six vegetation types from Caatinga and Atlantic Forest domains. None of the species is listed in threatened categories of IUCN, while two species are listed in the Brazilian Threatened Fauna list. Our data covers 32.34% of the state's area, a consequence of locally limited inventories and lack of longterm studies on snakes' fauna. The richest areas within the state are near large cities, which lack protected areas for the species they harbor, and highlights the necessity of protective policies and conservation actions.

Diversity and conservation of fishes from karstic areas of the Jandaíra Formation in the Brazilian semiarid

“…1), located mainly in Felipe Guerra and Governador Dix-Sept Rosado municipalities, was identified as of very high biological importance and as a priority area for the Caatinga conservation (MMA, 2018). In this area, 40 species of woody trees and more than 200 species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals were recorded (Marinho et al, 2018;Vargas-Mena et al, 2018;Sagot-Martin et al, 2020;Marques et al, 2021). In addition, the record of more than 700 caves in this region and the higher concentration of troglobitic invertebrate species in the RN complement this scenario of extreme biological relevance (CANIE/CECAV 2022, Bento et al, 2021).…”

The herpetofauna of priority highland areas for conservation of the Caatinga in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil

“…The richness of amphibians (19 species), lizards (23 species), snakes (24 species) and amphisbaenians (five species) found in Serra de Santana and Nascente do Potengi priority areas correspond, respectively, to 18.4%, 29.1%, 21.4% and 21.7% of current known richness for the Caatinga (Guedes et al 2014, Mesquita et al 2017, Ribeiro et al 2018). These two priority areas harbor 71.9% of lizards, 50.0% of snakes, and 71.4% of amphisbaenians known for RN state (Costa et al 2021, Marques et al 2021. The rarefaction curve pattern indicates that our sampling is close to representing the total diversity of the herpetofauna present in the areas.…”

“…The specimen was also successfully identified as L. paucidens by using the "key to species of Liophis" presented by Dixon (1989). This new record increases the number of snake species known for RN state to 48 (Marques et al 2021). The only species of the genus Lygophis previously reported for RN state is L. dilepis, which differs morphologically from L. paucidens mainly for having 19 rows of dorsal scales (Hoge 1952a, b, Dixon 1989).…”

“…Much of the biodiversity of RN is still unknown, but in recent years vertebrate lists for some sites were published regarding fish (Nascimento et al 2014, Medeiros et al 2019, amphibians (Magalhães et al 2013, Caldas et al 2016, reptiles (Freire et al 2009, Sales et al 2009, Caldas et al 2016, Calixto & Morato 2017, Marques et al 2021, birds (Silva et al 2012, Pichorim et al 2014, Sagot-Martin et al 2020, terrestrial mammals (Marinho et al 2018, Cherem et al 2019), and bats (Vargas-Mena et al 2018. With respect to the herpetofauna, only two sites in RN have published lists based on long-term standardized sampling effort: one in the Caatinga for amphibians and reptiles (Freire et al 2009, Caldas et al 2016, and the other in a transitional area between Caatinga and Atlantic Forest only for amphibians (Magalhães et al 2013).…”

First record of Amphisbaena anomala (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae) in lowland Caatinga based on citizen science, with an updated distribution map

“…Understanding the geographic distribution of species is crucial for filling gaps in our knowledge on biodiversity, reducing the Wallacean shortfall (Hortal et al, 2015). To bridge this gap, researchers employ many methodologies, including field studies, examination of natural history collections, literature reviews (Guedes et al, 2018; Marques et al, 2021; Nogueira et al, 2019) and, more recently, analysis of citizen science data (Oliveira & Costa, 2022; Roberts et al, 2022). Citizen science is public participation in the collection or processing of scientific data, often in collaboration with professional scientists (Kullenberg & Kasperowski, 2016).…”