Marcelo Ribeiro Duarte

Snakes from coastal islands of State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil

Cicchi, P.J.P.; De Sena, M.A. Peccinini-Seale, D.M. and Duarte, M.R. Snakes from coastal islands of State of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. Biota Neotrop. May/Aug 2007 vol. 7, no. 2. http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v7n2/pt/abstract?inventory+bn03907012007. ISSN 1676-0603. There are relatively few studies on snake fauna from coastal islands of the State of Sao Paulo (SSP), Southeastern Brazil and the number of species housed in Brazilian institutional zoological collections is relatively limited. In Brazil, for the first time, a snake inventory for eighteen islands of coastal SSP is presented. Here we record data from sampling on eleven islands as well information on vouchered species in the main herpetological collections. Thirty-six species from four families: one Boidae, thirty Colubridae, one Elapidae and four Viperidae from eighteen islands are listed as well as the thirteen new island records for snakes. Relative abundance categories were used for species rarity: common, infrequent and rare; 44.4% of the snakes with voucher specimens were considered rare. The most common species in twelve of the eighteen islands was Micrurus corallinus; in eleven of the eighteen islands were Bothrops jararaca and Liophis miliaris; in ten of the eighteen islands were B. jararacussu and Chironius bicarinatus. The most common snake species on coastal islands were Micrurus corallinus which was found in twelve of the eighteen islands, followed by Bothrops jararaca and Liophis miliaris found on eleven of the eighteen islands and B. jararacussu and Chironius bicarinatus which were found in ten of the eighteen islands studied. There are seven new records of snake species for Cardoso Island (25° 05’ S and 047° 59’ W): C. bicarinatus, C. multiventris, Dipsas petersi, Echinanthera bilineata, E. cephalostriata, Helicops carinicaudus and Xenodon neuwiedii; three new records for Comprida Island (24° 54’ S and 47° 48’ W): B. jararacussu, C. bicarinatus and H. carinicaudus; one for Anchieta Island (23° 32’ S and 045° 03’ W): Spilotes pullatus; one for Couves Island (23° 25’ S and 44° 52’ W): L. miliaris; one for Porcos Island (23° 23’ S and 44° 54’ W), B. jararaca. The endemic species B. alcatraz from Alcatrazes Island and B. insularis from Queimada Grande Island are considered endangered species by IUCN. Snake fauna on Monte de Trigo Island are extinct. The fragility of insular snake fauna needs more attention for environmental conservation, since 52.0% of snake species preys on amphibians, highlighting the importance of forest conservation.

Bites by the colubrid snake Philodryas patagoniensis: A clinical and epidemiological study of 297 cases

We retrospectively analyzed 297 proven cases of Philodryas patagoniensis bites admitted to Hospital Vital Brazil (HVB), Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil, between 1959 and 2008. Only cases in which the causative animal was brought and identified were included. Part of the snakes brought by the patients was still preserved in the collection maintained by the Laboratory of Herpetology. Of the 297 cases, in 199 it was possible to describe the gender of the snake, and seventy three (61.3%) of them were female. The length of snakes (snout-vent length) ranged from 160 to 1080 mm. In 117 snakes their state of preservation enabled the dissection and examination of their stomach contents. The stomach was empty in 106 snakes (89.1%). Most bites occurred in the seasons of spring and summer (n = 196, 66.0%) and during warmer periods of the day. The mean age of the victims was 24.1 +/- 15.1 years old and 206 (69.4%) patients were men. Around 92% of the patients sought medical care within 6 h after the bite. Both lower (n = 188, 63.3%) and upper limbs (n = 102, 34.3%) were most frequently bitten, especially the feet and hands (n = 205, 69.0%). The local clinical manifestations were pain (n = 151, 50.8%), transitory bleeding (n = 106, 35.7%), erythema (n = 47, 15.8%) and edema (n = 39, 13.1%). Ecchymosis was not observed. Only 7 (2.4%) patients reported systemic symptoms characterized by mild dizziness and 88 patients (29.6%) showed no evidence of envenoming. The whole blood clotting time was performed in 76 (25.6%) patients on admission and all of them had coagulable blood. Supportive treatment was offered to only 13.4% of patients, namely administration of antihistamines (n = 19, 6.4%) and analgesics (n = 12, 4.1%). Eight patients (2.7%) were mistreated with Bothrops antivenom before their admission to HVB. No sequels or relevant complications were observed in patients, and the prognostic was benign. Therefore, although P. patagoniensis accidents can cause mild local symptomatology, it is very important that health professionals know how to make the correct diagnosis to avoid unnecessary use of antivenom.

Forest pit viper (Bothriopsis bilineata bilineata) bite in the Brazilian Amazon with acute kidney injury and persistent thrombocytopenia.

There are six species of Bothriopsis in Latin America, accidents caused by this genus are unusually reported. A 37-year-old man admitted thirty hours after a snakebite to the emergency department of Santarém City Hospital (SCH), northern Brazil. The patient presented local erythema, edema, increased local temperature and blister with serous fluid in the right arm. He developed acute kidney injury (AKI) and prolonged thrombocytopenia. The blood was incoagulable and he was treated with anti-bothropic antivenom and antibiotics. The patient had complete regression of all clinical and laboratory manifestations at varying intervals. The platelet counts returned to normal almost 2 weeks after administration of specific antivenom. The present report is the first accident caused by a snake of forest pit viper (Bothriopsis bilineata) in the Brazilian Amazon forest.

Exotic snakes in São Paulo City, southeastern Brazil: why xenophobia?

Introduced exotic species cause environmental changes and threat public health in target sites. Illegal trade has enhanced this problem. To first report these risks in Brazil, exotic snakes found in São Paulo City (SPC) (23°32′ S, 46°38′ W), southeastern Brazil, and sent to Instituto Butantan between 1995 and 2000, were listed and characterized by their biological attributes. Seventy-six individuals of sixteen alien species were collected. Euriecians snakes, mainly booids, were predominant. Using multivariate techniques, their ecological niches were compared to those of 26 native species, as a way to point out the resources availability. To evaluate the potential of successful implantation, two species absent in SPC and considered as problem snakes are included in these analyses: the brown treesnake Boiga irregularis and the habu Trimeresurus flavoviridis. There were niche similarities between these pest snakes, exotic booids and native viperids largely due to the similarities in the chosen prey (mammals), diel activity (nocturnal), color pattern (variegated) and body size (medium to large). To avoid predictable undesirable effects of implanted pest snakes, traffic control and punishment should be improved, as well as parallel environmental education programs.

Comparison of Bothropoides jararaca bites with and without envenoming treated at the Vital Brazil Hospital of the Butantan Institute, State of São Paulo, Brazil

INTRODUCTION This study analyses the cases of all bites (including dry bites) caused by Bothropoides jararaca attended at the Vital Brazil Hospital of the Butantan Institute, State of São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS A retrospective study was conducted of patients bitten by Bothropoides jararaca (n=792) from January 1990 to December 2004. The characteristics of the snake specimen, data related to the accident and clinical manifestations on admission were obtained from patient medical records. RESULTS The majority of the cases in this study were caused by female and juvenile snakes. No stomach contents were found in 93.4% of the snake specimens after dissection. No statistical difference was observed between the occurrence of dry bites and the maturity or sex of the snake. The median SVL of snakes in mild and moderate cases was 40.5 cm and in severe cases, SVL increased to 99 cm. Necrosis was more common in the digits of the feet and hands (4.8%) compared to the other body regions (1.8%). A significant difference was verified between severity and a time interval greater than six hours from the bite to hospital admission. A significant association was verified between gingival bleeding and abnormal blood coagulability. In accidents caused by adult snakes, necrosis was more frequent (7.2%) compared to accidents caused by juvenile snakes (1%). CONCLUSIONS In this work, the association between certain epidemiological data and the evolution of biological parameters in the clinical course of Bothrops sensu latu accidents were highlighted, contributing to the improvement of snake bite assistance.

First report of an accident with the speckled forest pit viper (Bothriopsis taeniata) in Brazil

The first reported case of an accident with Bothriopsis taeniata in Brazil is described. The victim, a 43-year-old man, was bitten just above his right heel and presented a clinical condition compatible with mild Bothrops poisoning: local edema with hemorrhage at the bite site and pain, although without coagulopathy.