A review on human attitudes towards reptiles in Brazil.

For many millennia humans and reptiles have interacted, but the attitude of humans towards these animals has depended on culture, environment, and personal experience. At least 719 reptile species are known to occur in Brazil and about 11% of this fauna has been exploited for many different purposes, including bushmeat, leather, ornamental and magic/religious uses, and as folk medicines. Brazil can therefore serve as an interesting case study for better understanding reptile use by human societies, and the present paper catalogues some of the reptile species being used in Brazil and discusses implications for their conservation. A literature review indicated that 81 reptile species are culturally important in this country, with 47 (58%) species having multiple uses, 54 being used for medicinal purposes, 38 as food, 28 for ornamental or decorative purposes, 20 used in magic/religious practices, 18 as pets, and 40 are commonly killed when they come into contact with humans. Regarding their conservation status, 30 (37.5%) are included on State's Red List, Brazilian Red List or the IUCN Red List. There are many forms of interaction between reptiles and humans in Brazil-although most of them are quite negative in terms of wildlife conservation-which reinforces the importance of understanding such uses and interactions in the context of protecting reptiles in Brazil. A better understanding of the cultural, social, and traditional roles of these reptiles is fundamental to establishing management plans for their sustainable use.

Polymorphism in a Neotropical toad species: ontogenetic, populational and geographic approaches to chromatic variation in Proceratophrys cristiceps (Müller, 1883) (Amphibia, Anura, Odontophrynidae).

Quantifying variability is important for understanding how evolution operates in polymorphic species such as those of the genus Proceratophrys Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920, which is widely distributed in South America. P. cristiceps distribution is limited to the Caatinga biome in Brazil. We examined its chromatic variation from a populational perspective, looking at different phenetic polymorphism levels and probable chromotypic association by applying statistical and GIS tools that could facilitate future taxonomic research regarding this and other species. We characterized P. cristiceps colour patterns and re-evaluated its geographic variation, highlighting potential consequences for the taxonomy of the genus. Our results revealed six principle chromotypes whose frequencies varied among sex and ontogenetic classes. Phenotypic expression appeared to respect defined proportions and evidenced selective value for the species. We conclude that individual variation, together with typological traditionalism may overestimate the polymorphic magnitude at the population level and cause taxonomic inflation. Our data support the usefulness of P. cristiceps as a model for microevolutionary studies.

Effect of climate change on distribution of species of common horned frogs in South America.

Our main objectives were to verify the effect of climate change on distribution of frogs of the family Ceratophryidae and if the legal protection areas in South America will be effective or ineffective in ensuring the preservation of the toads this family in coming decades. The results showed that in the last 140,000 years, species of the family Ceratophryidae expanded and contracted their distribution areas, which naturally reflected the climate and vegetation changes in the Quaternary of South America. The maps of projections showed that changes in temperature determined the area of habitat suitability of 63.7% of the species of ceratophrids both during the last interglacial period and nowadays, and it seems that this will also be the case for the next 62 years. Given the current concerns about future extinctions in the tropics, it is prudent to examine, with special attention, the effects of climate fluctuations on the diversity and distribution of species, because the current estimates of reduction in biodiversity caused by habitat destruction and emission of greenhouse gases are comparable to estimated reductions during glacial intervals.

Snakes in a seasonally dry tropical forest in northeastern Brazil / Serpentes em uma floresta tropical sazonalmente seca no nordeste do Brasil

Abstract: This study aimed to provide information on composition, abundance, and estimated snakes richness in an area of arboreal Caatinga (seasonally dry tropical forest) and analyze patterns of faunistic similarity between assemblages of snakes in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil. The snakes found within the Fazenda Almas Natural Private Reserve (RPPN Fazenda Almas) were sampled during a 10-year period, with monthly monitoring, employing time constrained search, pitfall traps with drift fences, and donations from local collectors. Twenty-two snake species were recorded, with a predominance of terrestrial species with diurnal-nocturnal activity patterns. The species accumulation curves reached its asymptote, indicating that all possible species in the study area had been recorded. Our results indicated that the snake fauna in the study area is similar to other snake assemblages in localities with Caatinga vegetation in the Sertaneja Depression ("Depressão Sertaneja") drylands, and that those assemblages constitute faunistic units typical of the interior of northeastern Brazil.

Resumo: Este estudo objetivou fornecer informações sobre composição, estimativa de riqueza de espécies e abundância de serpentes em uma área de Caatinga arbórea (floresta tropical sazonalmente seca) e analisar a ocorrência de padrões de similaridade faunística entre as assembleias de serpentes na região semiárida do nordeste do Brasil. A fauna de serpentes da Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Fazenda Almas (RPPN Fazenda Almas) foi amostrada durante um período de dez anos de monitoramento mensal, usando busca visual limitada por tempo, armadilhas de queda com cercas direcionadoras e doações por coletores locais. Vinte e duas espécies foram registradas e houve predominância de serpentes terrestres e com padrões de atividade diurna-noturna. A curva de acumulação de espécies atingiu a assíntota indicando que foi possível registrar todas as espécies que ocorrem na área de estudo. Nossos resultados indicaram que a fauna de serpentes na área de estudo é semelhante a outras taxocenoses de serpentes em localidades com vegetação de Caatinga nas terras áridas das "Depressões Sertanejas", e que essas taxocenoses constituem unidades faunísticas típicas do interior do nordeste do Brasil.

Species richness and evidence of random patterns in assemblages of South American Titanosauria during the Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian).

The Titanosauria were much diversified during the Late Cretaceous, but paleobiological information concerning these sauropods continues to be scarce and no studies have been conducted utilizing modern methods of community analysis to infer possible structural patterns of extinct assemblages. The present study sought to estimate species richness and to investigate the existence of structures in assemblages of the South American Titanosauria during the Late Cretaceous. Estimates of species richness were made utilizing a nonparametric estimator and null models of species co-occurrences and overlapping body sizes were applied to determine the occurrence of structuring in this assemblages. The high estimate of species richness (n = 57) may have been influenced by ecological processes associated with extinction events of sauropod groups and with the structures of the habitats that provided abundant support to the maintenance of large numbers of species. The pseudocommunity analysis did not differ from that expected by chance, indicating the lack of structure in these assemblages. It is possible that these processes originated from phylogenetic inertia, associated with the occurrence of stabilized selection. Additionally, stochastic extinction events and historical factors may also have influenced the formation of the titanosaurian assemblages, in detriment to ecological factors during the Late Cretaceous. However, diagenetic and biostratinomic processes, influenced by the nature of the sedimentary paleoenvironment, could have rendered a random arrangement that would make assemblage structure undetectable.