PREDAÇÃO DE Tropidurus oreadicus (REPTILIA, TROPIDURIDAE) POR Heterophrynus sp. (ARACHNIDA, PHRYNIDAE) EM UMA CAVERNA NO PARQUE NACIONAL CHAPADA DAS MESAS, MARANHÃO, BRASIL

In the area of the Chapada das Mesas National Park, south of the state of Maranhão, Brazil, the sandstone of the Sambaíba Formation (Triassic) predominate, demonstrating to be an area with potential for the occurrence of groundwater natural cavities. Cavernous ecosystems do not have vegetation cover and light (aphotic). Its trophic resources originate from external physical and biotic agents. The fieldwork found and identified 87 caves and evaluated its degree of relevance, including a biospeleological survey. During the effort, among the representatives of the cave fauna of the park, one of the most common were the amblypygids of the genus Heterophrynus, troglophiles animals, with representatives found in all the tropical and semitropical zones around the world. This group assumes a tertiary or secondary consumer role in the ecosystems where it occurs, with predation records ranging from arthropods to birds such as the hummingbirds (Aves, Trochilidae). One of the Heterophrynus records that deserves prominence, occurred in a cave which is in a region where the predominant vegetation of the surrounding area is the Cerradão. In this cavity, a trophic relationship of predation was recorded between an amblypygid from the Heterophrynus genus and a Tropidurus oreadicus lizard. The importance of registering for biodiversity is mainly related to the characteristics of the amblypygids, which makes up one of the orders of less diverse arachnids.Keywords: Behavior; Amblypygi; Reptile; Conservation Unit.Na área do Parque Nacional da Chapada das Mesas (PNCM), ao sul do estado do Maranhão, Brasil, predominam os arenitos da Formação Sambaíba (Triássico), demonstrando ser uma área com potencial para ocorrência de cavidades naturais subterrâneas. Os ecossistemas cavernícolas não possuem cobertura vegetal e luz (afóticos). Seus recursos tróficos são oriundos de agentes físicos e bióticos externos. O trabalho de campo encontrou e identificou 87 cavernas e avaliou seu grau de relevância, incluindo levantamento bioespeleológico. Durante o esforço, dentre os representantes da fauna cavernícola do parque, um dos mais comuns foram os amblipígios do gênero Heterophrynus, animais troglófilos, com representantes encontrados em todas as zonas tropicais e semitropicais ao redor do mundo. Este grupo assume papel de consumidor terciário ou secundário nos ecossistemas onde ocorre, com registros de predação que variam de artrópodes até aves como o beija-flores (Aves, Trochilidae). Um dos registros de Heterophrynus que merece destaque, ocorreu em uma caverna que está localizada em uma região onde a vegetação predominante do entorno é o Cerradão. Nesta cavidade foi registrada uma relação trófica de predação entre um amblipígio do gênero Heterophrynus e um lagarto Tropidurus oreadicus. A importância do registro para a biodiversidade está relacionada principalmente às características dos amblipígios, que compõe uma das ordens de aracnídeos menos diversas.Palavras chave: Comportamento; Amblipígio; Réptil; Unidade de Conservação

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data