Herpetofauna of an urban fragment of Atlantic Forest in Paraíba State, Northeast Brazil

Abstract

The Herpetofauna of an urban fragment of Atlantic Forest was investigated in relation to species richness and habitat use. Fourteen species of amphibian anurans pertaining to the families Bufonidae, Brachycephalidae, Hylidae, Leptodactylidae, Leiuperidae, Microhylidae and Ranidae were recorded. The reptiles were represented by 37 species, distributed in the families Gekkonidae, Gymnophthalmidae, Polychrotidae, Scincidae, Teiidae, Tropiduridae, Amphisbaenidae, Boidae, Colubridae, Elapidae, Typhlopidae, Chelidae, Testudinidae and Alligatoridae. Most of the recorded species presented wide geographic distribution, although some of them had distributions that were restricted to the Atlantic Forest. The species richness of Mata do Buraquinho is relatively high for an urban fragment of Atlantic Forest, and the observed anthropogenic impacts show the urgent necessity of conservation in order to guarantee the viability of populations of amphibians and reptiles.

Keywords

• Herpetofauna
• natural history
• Atlantic Forest