Kleber Silva Vieira

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 States 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.

A zoological catalogue of hunted reptiles in the semiarid region of Brazil

The variety of interactions between human cultures and herpetofauna is the subject matter of Ethnoherpetology, a subdivision of Ethnozoology. In the semi-arid region of Brazil, many reptiles interact with human communities because of their utility or because of the risks they represent. These interactions have obvious implications for the conservation of reptiles from this region.In this context, ethnoherpetology studies are crucial because they serve as subsidies for guiding strategies for the handling and conservation of reptiles. This paper presents ethnozoological and taxonomic informations of hunted reptiles in the semiarid region of Brazil and analyse the implications on conservation that are related to the interactions between people and reptiles in this region. Taxonomic keys to identifying recorded reptiles are provided. Records of humans interacting with 38 reptile species that belong to 31 genuses and 16 families have been found. The groups with the largest numbers of recorded species were snakes (18 species), and this group was followed in number by lizards (13), chelonians (4), and crocodilians (3). The reptiles that were recorded may be used for the following purposes: medicinal purposes (24 species), food (13 species), ornamental or decorative purposes (11 species), in magical/religious practices (10 species), and as pets (10 species). Some species (n = 16) may have multiple uses. Furthermore, more than half of the species (n = 19) are commonly killed because they are considered potentially dangerous. Strategies for conserving the reptiles of the Brazilian semi-arid region must reconcile and integrate human and conservation needs.

Herpetofauna Used in Traditional Folk Medicine: Conservation Implications

This chapter provides an overview of the global use of herpetofauna in traditional folk medicine and the implications for conservation. The results indicate that 331 species (284 reptiles and 47 amphibians) are used in traditional folk medicine around the world. Among the species recorded, 182 reptiles and 42 amphibians are listed in the IUCN Red List. Additionally, 93 reptiles are in some of the appendices of CITES. These numbers demonstrate the importance of understanding such medicinal uses in the context of reptile conservation as well as the need for considering sociocultural factors when establishing management plans directed toward the sustainable use of these reptiles.

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.

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.

Geographic distribution of Pristimantis vinhai (Bokermann, 1975) (Anura, Craugastoridae: Ceuthomantinae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciencias Biologicas e da Saude – CCBS, Universidade Estadual da Paraiba – UEPB, Rua Baraunas, 351, Bairro Universitario, CEP 58429-500, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil*e-mail: gindomar@yahoo.com.brReceived: November 22, 2014 – Accepted: March 4, 2015 – Distributed: May 31, 2016

Geographic distribution of Gastrotheca fissipes (Boulenger, 1888) (Anura: Hemiphractidae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciencias Biologicas e da Saude – CCBS, Universidade Estadual da Paraiba – UEPB, Rua Baraunas, 351, Bairro Universitario, CEP 58429-500, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil*e-mail: gindomar@yahoo.com.brReceived: October 10, 2014 – Accepted: April 6, 2015 – Distributed: November 30, 2015