Herpetofauna of Estação Ambiental de Peti, an Atlantic Rainforest fragment of Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil

Fornecemos aqui uma lista de espécies de anfíbios e répteis da Estação de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Ambiental de Peti, uma reserva de Mata Atlântica localizada nas montanhas da Cadeia do Espinhaço, estado de Minas Gerais, sudeste do Brasil. Essa lista originou-se de um inventário conduzido durante 78 dias de trabalhos de campo, 13 anos após a realização de um primeiro levantamento. Entre abril de 2002 e outubro de 2004, aplicamos o método de procura visual durante caminhadas nas trilhas da floresta, em diversos corpos d'água e nos sítios reprodutivos dos anuros. Foram registradas 48 espécies, incluídas nas ordens Anura (29), Gymnophiona (1), Chelonia (1), Crocodylia (1) e Squamata (16 espécies: uma anfisbena, cinco lagartos e 11 serpentes). Treze espécies não haviam sido registradas no inventário anterior, e 14 espécies registradas anteriormente não foram detectadas em nosso inventário. São discutidas possíveis explicações para as diferenças observadas. Embora nenhuma espécie esteja incluída nas listas de espécies ameaçadas do Estado de Minas Gerais e do Brasil, a reserva deve ser considerada importante para a manutenção das populações da herpetofauna local.Here we provide a list of amphibians and reptiles of Estação de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Ambiental de Peti, an Atlantic rainforest reserve located in the mountains of the Espinhaço Range, State of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. This list originated from a 78-days inventory conducted in the area 13 years after a first inventory. We actively searched for amphibians and reptiles in forest trails and anuran breeding sites. Between April 2002 and October 2004 we recorded 48 species belonging to Anura (29 species), Gymnophiona (1), Chelonia (1), Crocodylia (1), and Squamata (16 species: one amphisbaenian, five lizards and 10 snakes). Thirteen species were not recorded in the first inventory, and 14 species previously recorded were not found in the present work. Possible explanations for these differences are discussed. Although none of the recorded species is included in the available lists of threatened species for the State of Minas Gerais and Brazil, the reserve must be considered an important source of natural habitats to the local herpetofauna.CEMI

Food habits of snakes from the RPPN Feliciano Miguel Abdala, an Atlantic Forest fragment of southeastern Brazil

We present data on the diet of 15 species of snakes belonging to a community from Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Feliciano Miguel Abdala, an Atlantic Forest fragment of Southeastern Brazil, based on their stomach contents. For 12 items we were able to determine the direction of the ingestion. Most snakes ingested the prey head-first. A cluster analysis was conducted with items grouped as chilopods, mollusks, adult anurans, anuran tadpoles, lizards, amphisbaenians, snakes, and rodents. The phylogenetic influence on diet preferences is discussed

The Bat Fauna from Southwestern Brazil and Its Affinities with the Fauna of Western Amazon

Historically for bats, the southwestern Brazilian Amazon has had scant biological data available, which compromised large-scale comparisons and macroecological studies that could support conservation initiatives in the area. We tested faunal similarity among 26 well-sampled bat assemblages distributed throughout the Amazon, including our database from surveys in the upper Madeira River region, a core area of the southwestern Brazilian Amazon. To document bats we conducted nocturnal mist-net sampling under standardized Rapid Assessments for Long-term Ecological Research (RAPELD) protocols in forests and farmlands, and diurnal search of roosts in rocky outcrops located along the riverbed of the Madeira River. We captured 2930 bats representing 66 species, 20 of which were previously unreported for the region. Thirty-four species recorded were exclusive to forests, and two to the rocky outcrops of the Madeira River. Frugivores outnumbered the other trophic guilds, followed by the gleaning insectivores in forests, and then aerial insectivores in the farmlands. The southwestern Brazilian Amazon fauna is more similar to others from the western Amazon and less similar to the bat fauna from the eastern Amazon and the Guianas. This geographic association is undoubtedly related to a more recent history of formation of the terrestrial ecosystems of the western Amazon lowlands. With 87 species currently known, the southwestern Brazilian Amazon is now one of the richest areas in the world for bats, which helps to understand the limits of the distributional patterns between eastern and western Amazon bat faunas. © Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS