Reptiles of forest remnants and agricultural fields on Cambuhy Farm, in the municipalities of Matão, Nova Europa, and Tabatinga, northwestern São Paulo, Brazil

• Main Authors: Ana Bárbara Barros, Frederico de Alcântara Menezes, José Ricardo Falconi, João Gabriel Ribeiro Giovanelli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina 2017-02-01
• Series: Biotemas
• Subjects: Atlantic Forest; Cerrado; Herpetofauna; Inventory; Matrix; Richness
• Online Access: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/biotemas/article/view/2175-7925.2017v30n1p79

In São Paulo State, the northwestern region is the most deforested and has the lowest concentration of protected areas. Despite recent scientific advances, there are still gaps in the herpetological knowledge for this region. The objective of the present study was to provide information about richness, abundance and habitat use of reptiles on Cambuhy Farm, which is in the municipalities of Matão, Nova Europa, and Tabatinga. Sampling occurred from 2013 to 2015, and used four methods: pitfall traps, visual search limited by time, visual search on roads and occasional records. The study also included records from the literature and biological collections. We recorded 46 species of reptiles belonging to the Squamata and Crocodylia groups. The most common species were Salvator merianae (N = 55), the most abundant species in all study sites, Notomabuya frenata (N = 14), sampled only in the forests, and Ameiva ameiva (N = 4) that was recorded in anthropic and forest environments. The species composition recorded reflects the location of the study area, with the majority of species associated with the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes. The richness of reptiles on Cambuhy Farm represents 21% of the richness in São Paulo, and is of great significance for the conservation of the herpetofauna in the northwestern region of the state.