Biotemas (Jun 2009)
Snakes killed on the roads in the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil
Abstract
Roads cause diverse impacts to ecosystems, including habitat loss and fragmentation, alteration of the natural landscape and death of animals. However, little is known about the impact of this mortality on the animal populations. The snake fauna of the state of Santa Catarina is the least studied of southern Brazil. In this work we present data on 165 snakes of 38 species found dead on the roads of the state between 2003 and 2008, which corresponds to 50% of the snake species in relation to the expected occurrence for the state of Santa Catarina. The four most frequent species were Philodryas patagoniensis (n = 22; 13.33%), Liophis miliaris (n = 21; 12.72%), P. aestiva (n = 13; 7.87%) and Bothrops jararaca (n = 12; 7.27%), which represent together about 41% of the snakes found dead on the roads. We extend the known distribution of Imantodes cenchoa by about 60km southward.
