Amphibians and reptiles along the middle Aporé river, central Brazil

Abstract

Much of the biodiversity of amphibians and reptiles known to Brazil is represented in the regions under the domain of the Cerrado, which has suffered intense anthropogenic activities and, thus, threatened by loss of species. Strategies for conserving biological diversity require studies with emphasis on its quantification and distribution both in small and in large scale. In this paper, we characterize the herpetofauna along the middle portion of the Aporé river, localized in the States of Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, through an inventory carried out between October 2008 and July 2011. We recorded 28 species of amphibians, represented by six families and 33 species of reptiles, distributed in 14 families. The herpetofauna sampled in the mid river Aporé has a richness corresponding to 13.4% of amphibians and 14% of reptile species known to biome, being endemics two species of amphibians and five reptiles. The distribution of richness and abundance of amphibians and reptiles was not homogenous among the sampled sites and the high degree of spatial heterogeneity probably influenced the difference in diversity between environments. Similarly to other areas in Cerrado, the herpetofauna along the mid river Aporé has many endemic species, habitat specialists and with few records in other biomes.

Keywords: Cerrado, hotspot, inventory, herpetofauna, diversity.