Composition and natural history of the snakes from the Parque Estadual da Serra do Papagaio, southern Minas Gerais, Serra da Mantiqueira, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Menezes, Frederico de Alcântara
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Abegg, Arthur Diesel, Silva, Bruno Rocha da, Franco, Francisco Luís, Feio, Renato Neves
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.797.24549; http://www.locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/24280
• topic: Araucaria forests; Atlantic Rainforest; Cluster analysis; Serpentes; Southeastern Brazil

The Serra da Mantiqueira is one of the least inventoried physiographic areas of southeastern Brazil. There is great potential for detection of endemic species for which little or nothing is known about basic aspects of natural history. The Parque Estadual da Serra do Papagaio (PESP) within the Serra da Mantiqueira is an area of extreme biological importance because it houses mixed formations of grasslands, ombrophilous forests, and enclaves of Araucaria forests (mixed ombrophilous forest). Currently, the mixed ombrophilous forest covers less than 5% of its original range and areas occupied by this forest type, and associated ecosystems constitute refuges, housing several endemic, high altitude species. Between September 2015 and April 2016, field samplings were performed in the PESP using four distinct methods. The objective was to determine the composition and natural history of snakes from an isolated, high altitude area of the Serra da Mantiqueira. In PESP and surrounding areas, 80 individuals representing 24 species, 19 genera, and three families were recorded. Data are presented on abundance, habitat, daily activity, diet, reproduction, and defense. Comparison of the PESP snake assemblage with 30 other Atlantic Forest areas in southeastern Brazil indicate the Serra da Mantiqueira presents particular characteristics regarding snake composition.