Herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco: one of the last remnants of seasonal forest in the core region of the Brazilian Cerrado Werther Pereira Ramalho¹², Daniella Pereira Fagundes França³⁴, Vinicius Guerra²⁵, Rosy Marciano²⁸, Nilton Carlos do Vale⁶ & Hélder Lúcio Rodrigues Silva⁷ ¹ Universidade Estadual de Goiás (UEG), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Recursos Naturais do Cerrado (RENAC). Anápolis, GO, Brasil. ORCID: 0000-0002-1049-2307. E-mail: wertherpereira@hotmail.com (corresponding author). ² Instituto Boitatá de Etnobiologia e Conservação da Fauna (IBEC). Goiânia, GO, Brasil. ³ Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Zoologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia. Rio Claro, SP, Brasil. ORCID: 0000-0002-0810-247X. E-mail: moojeni@hotmail.com ⁴ Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Museu de Zoologia (MZUSP). São Paulo, SP, Brasil. ⁵ Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais (PEA). Maringá, PR, Brasil. ORCID: 0000-0003-1912-1139. E-mail: vinicius.guerrabatista@gmail.com ⁶ Fauna Projetos e Consultoria Ambiental. Goiânia, GO, Brasil. E-mail: nilton@faunaconsultoria.com.br ⁷ Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás (PUC-GO), Departamento de Biologia. Goiânia, GO, Brasil. E-mail: helderlucio11@gmail.com ⁸ E-mail: rosy_marciano@hotmail.com Abstract. Studies in remnants of semi-deciduous seasonal forest of the Cerrado are needed to fill sampling gaps and improve basic knowledge of biodiversity. This study presents data on the herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, one of the last protected areas of seasonal forest in the core region of the Brazilian Cerrado. Fourteen sites were sampled between March 2007 and April 2008 using pitfall traps and active searches. A total of 35 anuran species were recorded, most of which were found in hygrophilous environments near forest fragments, open areas and riparian or gallery forest. A total of 29 reptile species were recorded, most of which were found in semi-deciduous forest and riparian or gallery forest. Fourteen of the amphibians and five of the reptiles are endemic to the Cerrado. The richness of amphibians and reptiles found in Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco is regionally representative, with communities typical of forest environments. Key-Words. Semi-deciduous forest; Protected area; Mato Grosso de Goiás; Amphibians; Reptiles. INTRODUCTION The Cerrado Biome comprises a mosaic of veg- etation in the central region of the South America with dry open areas, forest remnants along streams and rivers, and dense woodlands (Ab’Sáber, 1983; Ribeiro & Walter, 2008). Accelerated destruction of natural landscapes in the Cerrado makes it one of the most threatened biomes of the world (Mittermeier et al., 2004). Current estimates show that only 47% of the Cerrado is covered by its nat- ural vegetation (Beuchle et al., 2015). Since many natural areas have been converted into agricul- ture and pasture, the creation and maintenance of protected areas is the fastest and most efficient way to conserve species of fauna and flora of the Cerrado (Bensusan, 2006; Françoso et  al., 2015). Recent studies indicate that between 5.5% and 6.5% of original Cerrado vegetation is maintained by protected areas (Mittermeier et  al., 2004; Françoso et al., 2015). However, the effectiveness and purposes of these units should be the subject of deeper analyses, since protection efficiency is likely dependent on the type, use restriction, gov- erning agency, size and age of the protected area (Paiva et al., 2015). Landscapes composed of open and forested remnants create mosaics of heterogeneous hab- itats throughout the Cerrado (Silva et al., 2006). As a consequence, the Cerrado supports a high level of biological diversity, including 209 amphibian species (Valdujo et  al., 2012) and 103 squamate reptiles (Nogueira et  al., 2011). A significant part of this biodiversity can be found in protected ar- eas, which may hold high species richness, both at local and regional scales (Nogueira et al., 2009; Morais et  al., 2012; Santoro & Brandão, 2014). These areas may be effective for long-term in situ conservation of biodiversity and the maintenance of species’ genetic variability (Bensusan, 2006; ISSN On-Line: 1807-0205 ISSN Printed: 0031-1049 ISNI: 0000-0004-0384-1825 Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2018; v.58: e20185851 http://doi.org/10.11606/1807-0205/2018.58.51 www.revistas.usp.br/paz www.scielo.br/paz http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1049-2307 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0810-247X http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1912-1139 Luque et al., 2012). Thus, knowledge of the species occur- ring in protected areas is essential for the development of conservation strategies. Increases in the number of wildlife inventories has im- proved knowledge regarding amphibians and reptiles, re- sulting in the expansion of the area of occurrence (range) of many species and descriptions of new species (e.g., Brasileiro & Haddad, 2015; Vaz-Silva et al., 2015), thus facil- itating studies of distribution patterns (e.g., Vasconcelos et al., 2014). However, there are still remains large sampling gaps, most notably in remnants of seasonal semi-decidu- ous forest in the central region of the Cerrado. This type of forest formation occurs on interfluves and places rich in nutrients, where fallen leaves contribute to increased organic matter in the soil (Ribeiro & Walter, 2008). Due to their high productivity, these forested areas have been exploited for decades and now are restricted to a few small preserved patches (Moura & Bucci, 1981). Currently, between 20% and 60% of the semi-deciduous forest of the Cerrado has been converted into agriculture and pas- ture areas, and have suffered from wood extraction and other human impacts (Silva et al., 2006). Given this scenar- io of degradation and loss of natural habitats, studies on biodiversity in semi-deciduous seasonal forest remnants are of extreme importance, both to fill sampling gaps and to improve basic knowledge regarding the conservation status of species. In this context, the present study pres- ents data about the species richness and composition of the herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, one of the last protected areas composed of remnants of semi-deciduous seasonal forest in the core region of the Brazilian Cerrado. MATERIAL AND METHODS Study area Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco (PEAMP) is a protected area created to preserve one of the last remnants of seasonal and dry forest in the state of Goiás, Brazil (Fig. 1). The total area of PEAMP is about 32.46 km², and the predominant vegetation is seasonal semi-decid- uous forest, which covers approximately 75.54% of its ex- tension (Campos & Batista, 2010). This forest vegetation is characterized by an arboreal strata with an average height of between 15 and 25 m and canopy cover rang- ing from 70 to 95% in the rainy season and 50% or less in the dry season (Ribeiro & Walter, 2008). The vegetation of PEAMP also possesses gallery forests and small patches of woody savannah (Cerrado sensu strictu) and forest-like savannah (Cerradão). It is surrounded by landscapes modified for agricultural activities and urban centers. The main watercourse is the João Leite River, a tributary Figure 1. Geographic location of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco in the state of Goiás, central Brazil. Sampling sites 2-8, 11 and 13 are currently flooded by the João Leite Reservoir. Ramalho, W.P., et al.: Herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura PachecoPap. Avulsos Zool., 2018; v.58: e20185851 2/12 of the Meia Ponte River and one of the main tributaries of the Paranaíba basin. During field sampling (2007 and 2008), the PEAMP had dams and flooded zones cover- ing approximately 0.03% of its area (Campos & Batista, 2010). This percentage is currently much higher since part of the vegetation was removed for the insertion of the João Leite Reservoir (between 2009 and 2010), which was constructed to supply water to the municipality of Goiânia (Fig. 1). The phytophysiognomies sampled in PEAMP were classified as: DA  = disturbed areas; HF  = hygrophilous environments next to forest fragments; HO = hygrophi- lous environments in open areas; RF = riparian or gallery forest; SF  = seasonal semi-deciduous forest; and VE  = palm grove marsh (vereda) (Table 1). The climate of the region is characterized tropical (Aw of Köppen), with two well-defined seasons, one rainy and one dry (Peel et al., 2007). The average monthly temperature is 24.77°C, with the highest temperatures in September (26.90°C) and the lowest in June (22.79°C). The average monthly relative humidity is 59.61%, with highest humidity in December (72.72%) and the lowest in August (37.67%). The average monthly rainfall is 137.80  mm, with the greatest rainfall in December (319.68 mm) and the least in August (2.34 mm) (averages obtained for 2007 to 2016; Brasil, 2018). Data collection Fieldwork was conducted between March 2007 and April 2008 during six field trips (March, May, July and October 2007; January and April 2008), each lasting ten days for a total of 60 sampling days. We use a combina- tion of two field sampling methods: pitfall trap arrays with drift fences (see Ribeiro-Júnior et al., 2011) and vi- sual and auditory searches (Heyer et al., 1994). Eight sites were selected to set up the pitfall trap arrays (Table 1), with each site containing a single array of four 20-liter buckets buried in the soil in a “Y”-shaped arrangement and interconnected by a 5-meter long, 50-cm high bar- rier. The total sampling effort with this method was ap- proximately 46,080 bucket hours. We conducted active searches along 14 transects of ~1,000 meters in length (Table  1), during morning (09:00h-12:00h), afternoon (15:00h-18:00h) and night (19:00h-22:00h). Each transect was sampled for approximately one hour by two or three researchers. The total effort resulting from active search- es was approximately 504 person hours. Voucher specimens were collected, anesthetized with 5% lidocaine, fixed in 10% formalin and preserved in 70% alcohol. The compilations available in Frost (2018) and Costa & Bérnils (2018) were followed for nomen- clature for anurans and reptiles, respectively. Voucher specimens were deposited in Coleção Zoológica da Universidade Federal de Goiás (ZUFG) and Coleção de Herpetologia do Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas Biológicas of the Pontíficia Universidade Católica de Goiás (CEPB), Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil (collection permit #015/2007, process #5601.01383/2007-4). Species of amphibians and reptiles collected on other occasions by other researchers and placed in the collections of CEPB and ZUFG were also considered in the compilation of the species lists (Appendix 1). Species distribution patterns and the degree of as- sociation with the Cerrado were obtained from informa- tion available in Valdujo et al. (2012) for amphibians and Nogueira et al. (2011) for reptiles. Species with occurrenc- es in more than two biomes were considered widely dis- tributed. The conservation status of the species was based on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, 2017). RESULTS Amphibians We recorded 35 anuran species distributed among seven families (Table  2; Figs.  2-4). The richest fami- lies were Hylidae and Leptodactylidae, both with 13 species, followed by Microhylidae (three species), Table 1. Sampled sites in Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, Goiás, Brazil, with sampling methods used, geographic coordinates and type of environments sampled. Site Method Geographical coordinates Environments S1 Active search, pitfall 16°30’27.18”S 49°09’59.86”W Gallery forest S2 Active search, pitfall 16°31’46.54”S 49°08’20.38”W Hygrophilous near to forest; disturbed areas S3 Active search, pitfall 16°32’03.88”S 49°09’51.88”W Seasonal semi-deciduous forest S4 Active search 16°32’24.15”S 49°08’55.71”W Hygrophilous near to forest; disturbed areas S5 Active search 16°30’50.21”S 49°07’33.83”W Hygrophilous in open areas; palm grove marsh; disturbed areas S6 Active search, pitfall 16°31’32.40”S 49°08’32.39”W Riparian forest S7 Active search, pitfall 16°31’15.17”S 49°08’48.92”W Seasonal semi-deciduous forest S8 Active search, pitfall 16°31’15.95”S 49°08’56.98”W Gallery forest S9 Active search 16°32’39.08”S 49°07’40.23”W Seasonal semi-deciduous forest; gallery forest S10 Active search 16°33’27.41”S 49°07’07.61”W Hygrophilous in open areas; disturbed areas S11 Active search, pitfall 16°31’28.85”S 49°08’31.51”W Riparian forest S12 Active search, pitfall 16°31’17.25”S 49°08’34.70”W Seasonal semi-deciduous forest S13 Active search 16°31’35.04”S 49°08’40.64”W Seasonal semi-deciduous forest S14 Active search 16°31’57.01”S 49°08’18.84”W Hygrophilous near to forest; seasonal semi-deciduous forest Ramalho, W.P., et al.: Herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2018; v.58: e20185851 3/12 Bufonidae and Odontophrynidae (two species each), and Craugastoridae and Phyllomedusidae (one species each). Most species were recorded during active search- es (34 species), with 23 being exclusively encountered by this method. Twelve species were recorded using pitfall traps, with Dermatonotus muelleri being exclusively sam- pled by this method (Table 2). The majority of amphibian species were recorded in hygrophilous environments near forest fragments (26 species), open areas (24 species) and riparian or gallery forests (14 species). Twelve species were recorded in sea- sonal semi-deciduous forest, and nine in disturbed areas and palm grove marsh. Fourteen species are endemic to the Cerrado and four occur in Cerrado and Atlantic Forest, while the remaining 14 species are widely distrib- uted. None of the species are considered at any level of threat with most being classified as Least Concern, while three have yet to be evaluated (Table 2). Reptiles We recorded 29 reptile species distributed among 13 families of two orders (Table  3; Figs.  5  and  6). For Table 2. List of amphibian species recorded in Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, Goiás, Brazil, and their occurrence, sampling method, and distribution pattern in the Cerrado Biome. Threat Status (TS): NA = Not Evaluated, LC = Least Concern. Distribution (DS): END = Endemic, W = Widely distributed, CE = Cerrado, AF = Atlantic Forest. Habitat: DA = Disturbed areas, HF = Hygrophilous environments next to forest fragments, HO = Hygrophilous environments in open areas, RF = riparian or gallery forest, SF = Seasonal semi-deciduous forest, and VE = palm grove marsh (vereda). Method: AS = Active search, PT = Pitfall trap. Family/Species TS DS Habitat Method Anura Bufonidae Rhinella sebbeni Vaz-Silva, Maciel, Bastos, & Pombal, 2015 NA END SF AS/PT Rhinella diptycha (Cope, 1862) LC W HO, HF, SF, VE AS/PT Craugastoridae Barycholos ternetzi (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1937) LC END SF, RF AS/PT Odontophrynidae Proceratophrys goyana (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1937) LC END SF, RF AS/PT Odontophrynus cultripes Reinhardt & Lütken, 1862 LC END SF, RF AS/PT Hylidae Boana albopunctata (Spix, 1824) LC W DA, HF, HO, VE AS Boana lundii (Burmeister, 1856) LC END HF, RF, VE AS Boana paranaiba (Carvalho, Giaretta, & Facure, 2010) LC END HF AS Boana raniceps (Cope, 1862) LC W HF, HO, RF, VE AS Dendropsophus cruzi (Pombal & Bastos, 1998) LC END HF, HO, RF AS Dendropsophus minutus (Peters, 1872) LC W HF, HO, VE AS Dendropsophus nanus (Boulenger, 1889) LC W DA, HF, HO AS Dendropsophus rubicundulus (Reinhardt & Lütken, 1862 “1861”) LC CE, AF HF, HO AS Pseudis bolbodactyla Lutz, 1925 LC CE, AF HF, HO, VE AS Scinax constrictus Lima, Bastos, & Giaretta, 2005 LC END HF, HO AS Scinax fuscomarginatus (Lutz, 1925) LC W HF, HO AS Scinax aff. fuscovarius — — DA, HF, HO AS Trachycephalus typhonius (Linnaeus, 1758) LC W DA, HF, SF AS Phyllomedusidae Pithecopus hypochondrialis (Daudin, 1800) LC END HO, HF, VE AS Leptodactylidae Adenomera aff. hylaedactyla — — RF, SF, DA AS Leptodactylus fuscus (Schneider, 1799) LC W HO, HF, DA AS Leptodactylus labyrinthicus (Spix, 1824) LC W DA, HF, HO, SF, RF AS Leptodactylus latrans (Steffen, 1815) LC W DA, HF, HO, RF AS Leptodactylus mystaceus (Spix, 1824) LC W RF, VE AS Leptodactylus mystacinus (Burmeister, 1861) LC CE, AF HO, SF, RF AS/PT Leptodactylus podicipinus (Cope, 1862) LC W HF, HO, SF, RF, VE AS/PT Leptodactylus gr. melanonotus — — HF, HO AS Physalaemus atim Brasileiro & Haddad, 2015 NA END HF AS/PT Physalaemus centralis Bokermann, 1962 LC END HO, HF AS/PT Physalaemus cuvieri Fitzinger, 1826 LC W DA, HF, HO, SF, RF AS/PT Physalaemus nattereri (Steindachner, 1863) LC END HO, HF AS Pseudopaludicola facureae Andrade & Carvalho, 2013 NA END HO AS Microhylidae Chiasmocleis albopunctata (Boettger, 1885) LC END SF, RF AS/PT Elachistocleis cesarii (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920) LC CE, AF HF, HO AS Dermatonotus muelleri (Boettger, 1885) LC W HF, HO PT Ramalho, W.P., et al.: Herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura PachecoPap. Avulsos Zool., 2018; v.58: e20185851 4/12 Squamata, the richest families were Dipsadidae (10 species) and Boidae (three species); five other families (Mabuyidae, Tropiduridae, Teiidae, Amphisbaenidae and Viperidae) were represented by two species, and four families (Gekkonidae, Dactyloidae, Anguidae and Colubridae) by one species. Testudines were represent- ed by one species of Chelidae and one of Testudinidae (Table 3). Most reptile species were recorded during ac- tive searches (27 species), with 22 being exclusively en- countered by this method. We recorded five species us- ing pitfall traps, with no species being exclusively found by this method. The species Amphisbaena anaemariae and Atractus albuquerquei were included from secondary data (specimens housed in scientific collection – CEPB) (Table 3). The majority of species were recorded in seasonal semi-deciduous forest (20 species) and riparian or gallery forests (16 species). Thirteen species were recorded in Figure 2. Species of anurans recorded in Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, state of Goiás, central Brazil: (A) Rhinella sebbeni, (B) Rhinella diptycha, (C) Barycholos ternetzi, (D) Proceratophrys goyana, (E) Odontophrynus cultripes, (F) Boana albopunctata, (G) Boana lundii, (H) Boana paranaiba, (I) Boana raniceps, (J) Dendropsophus cruzi, (K) Dendropsophus minutus, (L) Dendropsophus nanus, (M) Dendropsophus rubicundulus, (N) Pseudis bolbodactyla, (O) Scinax constrictus. Ramalho, W.P., et al.: Herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2018; v.58: e20185851 5/12 disturbed areas and five in hygrophilous environments. Most reptile species (23 species) are widely distributed among the Brazilian biomes, while five are endemic to the Cerrado, one occurring in Cerrado and Atlantic Forest and one occurring in Cerrado and Amazon Rainforest. None of the species are considered at any level of threat; however, the majority has yet to have their conservation status evaluated (Table 3). DISCUSSION Amphibians The species richness of amphibians found in PEAMP was similar to that of other localities with a predomi- nance of open vegetation (Kopp et  al., 2010; Ramalho et al., 2014; Santoro & Brandão, 2014) and Cerrado forests Figure  3. Species of anurans recorded in Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, state of Goiás, central Brazil: (A)  Scinax fuscomarginatus, (B)  Scinax aff. fuscovarius, (C) Trachycephalus typhonius, (D) Pithecopus hypochondrialis, (E) Adenomera aff. hylaedactyla, (F) Leptodactylus fuscus, (G) Leptodactylus labyrinthicus, (H) Leptodactylus latrans, (I) Leptodactylus mystaceus, (J) Leptodactylus mystacinus, (K) Leptodactylus podicipinus, (L) Leptodactylus gr. melanonotus, (M) Physalaemus atim, (N) Physalaemus centralis, (O) Physalaemus cuvieri. Ramalho, W.P., et al.: Herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura PachecoPap. Avulsos Zool., 2018; v.58: e20185851 6/12 (Morais et al., 2012; Melo et al., 2013). This high richness testifies to the importance of the area for species pres- ervation, especially since it is located close to regions of intense urban development. The predominance of species from the families Hylidae and Leptodactylidade is a common pattern in the Neotropical Region (Duellman, 1999; Wiens et al., 2011), including studies performed close to PEAMP (Campos & Vaz-Silva, 2010; Morais et  al., 2012; Santos et  al., 2014), thus indicating that the sampling methods allowed the recording of species with different ecological require- ments (Lynch, 2005). The active search method was more effective than pitfall traps for anuran sampling. However, complementary sampling methods need to be consid- ered since some fossorial species and/or species with explosive breeding (e.g., D. muelleri) are more difficult to find using observational sampling methods. Although we recorded many species that are con- sidered habitat generalists (e.g., Boana albopunctata, B. raniceps, Leptodactylus labyrinthicus, L.  podicipinus and Physalaemus cuvieri), none of them occurred in all of the sampled environments. The majority of anurans were found in hygrophilous environments, where Boana pa- ranaiba and Physalaemus atim were found exclusively next to forest fragments, while Pseudopaludicola facu- reae is typical of open areas. Seasonal semi-deciduous, riparian and gallery forests also possessed several ex- clusive species, such as Rhinella sebbeni, Barycholos ter- netzi, Proceratophrys goyana, Odontophrynus cultripes, Leptodactylus mystaceus and Chiasmocleis albopunctata. Other species seem to depend on waterbodies with for- est cover, such as Boana lundii, B. paranaiba and P. atim. The differing preferences among some species for open or forest environments indicates spatial segregation (Gambale et  al., 2014; Santos et  al., 2014; Dória et  al., 2015). A significant part of the anuran richness found (40%) is endemic to the Cerrado Biome, where some were re- corded exclusively in forest environments (e.g., R.  seb- beni, B.  ternetzi, P.  goyana, O.  cultripes, C.  albopunctata). Among these, P.  atim and R.  sebbeni were recently de- scribed (Brasileiro & Haddad, 2015; Vaz-Silva et al., 2015), and thus information about their natural history and geographic distribution are lacking, making the assess- ment of their true conservation status difficult (Morais et al., 2018). Research efforts should be directed towards filling the knowledge gaps for these species, including information about their ecology, natural history and distribution (Guerra et al., 2018). Non-evaluated species represent taxonomic uncertainty (Scinax aff. fuscovarius, Adenomera aff. hylaedactyla and Leptodactylus gr. mela- nonotus) or are still under evaluation because they have recently been described (e.g., P.  facureae). Nonetheless, none of the species are included threat categories. Reptiles The reptile richness found in PEAMP was similar to that of other localities with a predominance of forest en- vironments in the core region of the biome (Morais et al., 2012; Oda et al., 2017); however, it can still be considered low when compared to regions with open vegetation types (Recoder & Nogueira, 2007; Valdujo et  al., 2009; Recoder et al., 2011). Therefore, although the richness of reptiles is within that expected for Cerrado areas, which varies from 15 to 70 species (Costa et al., 2007), the find- ing confirms a pattern of greater richness in open envi- ronments in the biome (Nogueira et al., 2005, 2009). The predominance of species from the family Dipsadidae is a common pattern often for the Neotropical Region (Cadle & Greene, 1993; Costa & Bérnils, 2018). This family includes snakes from different ecological groups (Vidal et al., 2010), and is the richest snake fam- ily in the Neotropical Region (Uetz et  al., 2018). Other squamate families were represented by few species, cor- Figure 4. Species of anurans recorded in Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, state of Goiás, central Brazil: (A) Physalaemus nattereri, (B) Pseudopaludicola facureae, (C) Chiasmocleis albopunctata, (D) Elachistocleis cesarii, (E) Dermatonotus muelleri. Ramalho, W.P., et al.: Herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2018; v.58: e20185851 7/12 roborating what has been found in other Cerrado areas (França & Braz, 2013; Oda et al., 2017; Rios et al., 2017). Interestingly, families composed of species common in open phytophysiognomies of the Cerrado, such as those of Gymnophthalmidae, as well as some other lizard (e.g., Ameivula ocellifera) and snake (e.g., Bothrops pauloensis) species typical of open environments, were not found. The absence or rarity of these species seems to differen- tiate the structure of the reptile community of PEAMP from other nearby localities with a predominance of open environments. The majority of reptile species was associated with forest environments and many were found exclusive- ly in these environments, including chelonians (e.g., Chelonoidis carbonarius), lizards (e.g., Notomabuya frena- ta, Ophiodes aff. striatus) and snakes (e.g., Epicrates cras- Table 3. List of reptile species recorded in Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, Goiás, Brazil, and their occurrence, sampling method, and distribution pattern in the Cerrado Biome. Threat status (TS): NA = Not Evaluated, LC = Least Concern. Distribution (DS): END = Endemic, W = Widely distributed, CE = Cerrado, AF = Atlantic Forest. Habitat: DA = Disturbed areas, HF = Hygrophilous environments next to forest fragments, HO = Hygrophilous environments in open areas, RF = riparian or gallery forest, and SF = Seasonal semi-deciduous forest. Method: AS = Active search, SC = Scientific collection, PT = Pitfall trap. Family/Species TS DS Habitat Method Testudines Testudinidae Chelonoidis carbonarius (Spix, 1824) NA W SF, RF AS Chelidae Phrynops geoffroanus (Schweigger, 1812) NA W DA, HF, RF AS Squamata Sauria Gekkonidae Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau De Jonnès, 1818) NA W DA, SF AS Mabuyidae Copeoglossum nigropunctatum (Spix, 1825) NA W SF, DA, RF AS/PT Notomabuya frenata (Cope, 1862) NA W SF, RF AS Dactyloidae Norops brasiliensis (Vanzolini & Williams, 1970) NA END SF AS Tropiduridae Tropidurus oreadicus Rodrigues, 1987 NA CE, AM SF, DA, RF AS Tropidurus torquatus (Wied-Neuwied, 1820) LC CE, AF SF, DA AS/PT Anguidae Ophiodes aff. striatus — — RF AS Teiidae Ameiva ameiva ameiva (Linnaeus, 1758) NA W SF, DA, RF AS/PT Salvator merianae Duméril & Bibron, 1839 LC W SF, DA, HO, RF AS/PT Amphisbaenia Amphisbaenidae Amphisbaena alba Linnaeus, 1758 LC W DA AS Amphisbaena anaemariae Vanzolini, 1997 NA END — SC Serpentes Boidae Boa constrictor amarali (Stull, 1932) NA W DA, SF, RF AS Epicrates crassus Cope, 1862 NA END SF, RF AS Eunectes murinus (Linnaeus, 1758) NA W RF AS Colubridae Spilotes pullatus pullatus (Linnaeus, 1758) NA W SF, RF AS Dipsadidae Apostolepis albicollaris Lema, 2002 NA END SF AS Atractus albuquerquei Cunha & Nascimento, 1983 LC W — SC Erythrolamprus reginae macrosoma (Amaral, 1935) NA W HF, SF, RF AS Hydrodynastes gigas (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) NA W RF AS Oxyrhopus petolarius digitalis (Reuss, 1834) NA W SF, RF AS Oxyrhopus guibei Hoge & Romano, 1978 NA W SF AS Philodryas olfersii (Lichtenstein, 1823) NA W SF AS Sibynomorphus mikanii mikanii (Schlegel, 1837) NA W DA AS Taeniophallus occipitalis (Jan, 1863) NA W DA AS Xenodon merremii (Wagler, 1824) NA W SF AS Viperidae Bothrops moojeni Hoge, 1966 NA END DA, HO, HF, SF, RF AS/PT Crotalus durissus collilineatus Amaral, 1926 LC W SF, DA AS Ramalho, W.P., et al.: Herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura PachecoPap. Avulsos Zool., 2018; v.58: e20185851 8/12 sus, Apostolepis albicollaris, Oxyrhopus petolarius digitalis). The snake Erythrolamprus reginae macrosoma was also always associated to sites with waterbodies. By contrast, open environments had lower richness and few exclu- sive species, such as Amphisbaena alba, Sibynomorphus mikanii mikanii and Taeniophallus occipitalis. This pattern of segregated distribution is well known for the Cerrado biome (Nogueira et al., 2009), and demonstrates the lim- itations that open and forest environments represent for the distributions of reptiles. Most reptile species recorded (72%) have wide dis- tributions among Brazilian biomes, while one lizard (Norops brasiliensis), three snakes (E.  crassus, A.  albi- colaris and Bothrops moojeni) and one amphisbaenid (A.  anaemariae) are endemic to the Cerrado. Despite being classified as a Cerrado endemic (Nogueira et al., Figure 5. Species of reptiles recorded in Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, state of Goiás, central Brazil: (A) Chelonoidis carbonarius, (B) Phrynops geof- froanus, (C) Hemidactylus mabouia, (D) Copeoglossum nigropunctatum, (E) Notomabuya frenata, (F) Norops brasiliensis, (G) Tropidurus oreadicus, (H) Tropidurus tor- quatus, (I) Ophiodes aff. striatus, (J) Ameiva ameiva ameiva, (K) Salvator merianae, (L) Amphisbaena alba, (M) Amphisbaena anaemariae, (N) Boa constrictor amarali, (O) Epicrates crassus. Ramalho, W.P., et al.: Herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2018; v.58: e20185851 9/12 2011), the snake A. albuquerquei should be considered as having wide distribution due to recent records in the Amazon (França et  al., 2017). The number of endemic squamate reptiles recorded for PEAMP can be consid- ered low relative to the high levels expected in regions of open high plateaus (Nogueira et  al., 2011). None of the reptile species recorded are considered at any level of threat. Figure  6. Species of reptiles recorded in Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco, state of Goiás, central Brazil: (A)  Eunectes murinus, (B)  Spilotes pullatus pullatus, (C) Apostolepis albicollares, (D) Atractus albuquerquei, (E) Erythrolamprus reginae macrosoma, (F) Hydrodynastes gigas, (G) Oxyrhopus petolarius digitalis, (H) Oxyrhopus guibei, (I) Philodryas olfersii, (J) Sibynomorphus mikanii mikanii, (K) Taeniophallus occipitalis, (L) Xenodon merremii, (M) Bothrops moojeni, (N) Crotalus durissus collilineatus (Photo “F” by D. Lopes). Ramalho, W.P., et al.: Herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura PachecoPap. Avulsos Zool., 2018; v.58: e20185851 10/12 As one of the last protected areas of seasonal semi-de- ciduous forest of the Cerrado, PEAMP is very important for biodiversity conservation. The anuran and reptile richness found is regionally representative, with com- munities typical of forest environments. The communi- ties are composed by endemic species that are mainly adapted to forest areas, habitat-specific and with restrict- ed distributions, and thus are in need of more research efforts to obtain information on geographic distribution, ecology and natural history. Furthermore, since approx- imately 50% of the points sampled during the present study were flooded during the filling of the João Leite reservoir, the data presented here will be valuable to any future research that assesses the impact of the insertion of the reservoir on the local herpetofauna. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Leandro Baiocchi, Ivan Tibúrcio, Mônica R. Silva, Rafael Filgueira Jorge, Rhuâna T. Nascimento, Tarcilla Valtuille, Geanice Cristina and other undergraduate stu- dents for assistance during field work; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for providing scholarship to VG and WPR; and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) for providing scholarship to DPFF. Erick Wild reviewed the English language. REFERENCES Ab’Sáber, N.A. 1983. O domínio dos cerrados: introdução ao conhecimento. Revista do Serviço Público, 111(4): 41-55. Bensusan, N. 2006. Conservação da biodiversidade em áreas protegidas. Rio de Janeiro, Editora FGV. Beuchle, R.; Grecchi, R.C.; Shimabukuro, Y.E.; Seliger, R.; Eva, H.D.; Sano, E. & Achard, F. 2015. Land cover changes in the Brazilian Cerrado and Caatinga biomes from 1990 to 2010 based on a systematic remote sensing sampling approach. Applied Geography, 58: 116-127. Brasil. 2018. Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia. Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, MAPA. 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Boana pa- ranaiba: ZUFG-3252. Chiasmocleis albopunctata: ZUFG-3192; ZUFG-3193; ZUFG-3194; ZUFG-3195. Dermatonotus muelleri: ZUFG-11103. Elachistocleis cesarii: ZUFG-11102. Leptodactylus mystaceus: ZUFG-3196; ZUFG-3202. Leptodactylus mystac- inus: ZUFG-3200; ZUFG-3201. Odontophrynus cultripes: ZUFG-3198. Physalaemus atim: ZUFG-11099. Physalaemus centra- lis: ZUFG-3197. Physalaemus cuvieri: ZUFG-3249; ZUFG-3250; ZUFG-3251. Physalaemus nattereri: ZUFG-11100. Pithecopus hypochondrialis: ZUFG-3205. Proceratophrys goyana: ZUFG-3204. Pseudopaludicola facureae: ZUFG-11101. Rhinella seb- beni: ZUFG-3190; 3191; ZUFG-3203; ZUFG-3246. Scinax constrictus: ZUFG-3243; ZUFG-3244; ZUFG-3245; ZUFG-3247; ZUFG-3248. Reptiles: Ameiva ameiva ameiva: ZUFG-1258. Amphisbaena anaemariae: CEPB-1838. Atractus alburquerquei: CEPB-8793. Bothrops moojenii: ZUFG-1247. Copeoglossum nigropunctatum: ZUFG-1255. Norops brasiliensis: ZUFG-1256. Notomabuya frenata: ZUFG-1245. Oxyrhopus trigeminus: ZUFG-1241. Oxyrhopus guibei: ZUFG-1260. Oxyrhopus petolar- ius digitalis: ZUFG-1246. Philodryas olfersii: ZUFG-1261. Salvator merianae: ZUFG-1259. Sibynomorphus mikanii mikanii: ZUFG-1244. Tropidurus torquatus: ZUFG-1257. Ramalho, W.P., et al.: Herpetofauna of Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco Edited by: Carlos José Einicker Lamas • Received: 11/04/2018 • Accepted: 08/10/2018 • Published: 06/11/2018 Pu bl ish ed w ith th e f in an cia l s up po rt of th e " Pr og ra m a d e A po io às P ub lic aç õe s C ie nt ífi ca s P er ió di ca s d a U SP " Se çã o d e P ub lic aç õe s – M us eu d e Z oo lo gi a d a U ni ve rs id ad e d e S ão Pa ul o Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2018; v.58: e20185851 12/12 http://www.reptile-database.org http://www.reptile-database.org