Herpetology Notes, volume 6: 23-27 (2013) (published online on 26 January 2013)
Two new records of Coleodactylus meridionalis (Boulenger, 1888) (Squamata, Sphaerodactylidae) in north-eastern Brazil, including a map and comments regarding its geographical distribution Leonardo B. Ribeiro1,2,*, Melissa Gogliath3, Renato G. Rodrigues2, Rebeca M. F. Barreto2, Eliza M. X. Freire3
The genus Coleodactylus Parker, 1926 (Squamata, Sphaerodactylidae) is distributed in north-eastern South America (Kluge, 1995). Coleodactylus comprises a miniaturized species complex of diurnal leaflitter inhabiting sphaerodactyl geckos (SVL 20-28 mm; Vanzolini, 1968; Avila-Pires, 1995). Currently, Coleodactylus is composed of five species: C. meridionalis (Boulenger, 1888) occurs in the Atlantic Forest, from the coastal Brazilian states to the more mesic, open formations from Ceará to Bahia (Vanzolini, 1957); C. brachystoma (Amaral, 1935) inhabits the Cerrado in the Brazilian states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Piauí (Vanzolini, 1980; Geurgas, Rodrigues and Moritz, 2008); C. septentrionalis (Vanzolini, 1980) occurs in the northern state of Roraima (Vanzolini, 1980; Ávila-Pires, 1995; Vitt et al., 2005); C. natalensis Freire, 1999 is considered to be endemic to the Rio Grande do Norte Atlantic Forest (Freire, 1999); and C. elizae Gonçalves, Torquato, Skuk and Sena, 2012 which is restricted to the Atlantic Forest in the municipality of Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil (Gonçalves et al., 2012). Despite the broad geographic range of Coleodactylus spp, their small size and cryptic habits have made these sphaerodactyl geckos among the most poorly studied lizard groups (Gamble et al., 2011). 1 Centro de Conservação e Manejo de Fauna da Caatinga (CEMAFAUNA-CAATINGA), CEP 56300-990, Petrolina, PE, Brazil. 2 Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF), Campus Ciências Agrárias, Colegiado de Ciências Biológicas, Rodovia BR 407, km 12, Lote 543, s/nº - C1, CEP 56300-990. Petrolina, PE, Brazil. 3 Laboratório de Herpetologia, Departamento de Botânica, Ecologia e Zoologia, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Universitário Lagoa Nova, CEP 59072-970. Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. * Corresponding author; e-mail:
[email protected]
Coleodactylus meridionalis (Fig. 1) was described by Boulenger (1888) as Sphaerodactylus meridionalis based on specimens originating from the municipality of Igarassu, state of Pernambuco. Several decades later S. meridionalis was allocated in the genus Coleodactylus by Parker (1926) whose decision was supported by Vanzolini (1957). This species has been found in both continuous areas as in relicts of the Atlantic Forest (Vanzolini, Ramos-Costa and Vitt, 1980; Sousa, 2010), and in coastal restingas (Freire, 1996). Coleodactylus meridionalis also occurs within brejos de altitude (Atlantic Forest enclaves) in the state of Ceará (BorgesNojosa and Caramaschi, 2003) and in mesic formations in the Caatinga (Vanzolini, Ramos-Costa and Vitt, 1980; Rodrigues, 1996). The currently known geographical distribution, based on records available in literature, comprises 44 sites, including besides the type locality of Pernambuco other localities in the states of Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará. Herein, we present two new localities for C. meridionalis in the Rio Grande do Norte and Bahia, north-eastern Brazil (Fig. 2) (Table 1). From 24 October 2009 to 13 March 2010, we collected eight specimens of C. meridionalis in a forest enclave inside the Caatinga biome located in the municipality of Tenente Laurentino Cruz (Dizimeira: 06°10’80”S, 36°43’38W, 751m asl). Additionally, nine specimens were collected from 24 October 2009 to 16 April 2010 at another location (Serra Nova) within the same municipality (06°05’94”S, 36°42’94”W, 710m asl). Voucher specimens were deposited at the Herpetological Collection of the Department of Botany, Ecology and Zoology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (CHBEZ 2960-2, 3190-6, 3214, 3442-6, and 3562). Collecting permits were granted by the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA) (Permit 206/2006 and Process no. 02001.004294/03-15).
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Figure 1. Specimens of Coleodactylus meridionalis collected at Serra Nova, municipality of Tenente Laurentino Cruz, state of Rio Grande do Norte (female, 23.7 mm SVL: left), and Serra Azul Farm, municipality of Miguel Calmon, state of Bahia (male, 24.7 mm SVL: right), Brazil. Photos by Melissa Gogliath and Renato Garcia.
Three additional specimens of C. meridionalis were collected on 13 and 14 November 2011. All specimens were located during the activities of a course on biology of vertebrates in a forest area located within a farm (Serra Azul) in Miguel Calmon municipality, state of Bahia (11º22’46”S, 40º30’17”W; 626 m asl). This collection site, located in the Serra de Jacobina, comprises areas of semi deciduous forest and represents a transition zone between the Atlantic Forest and the semi-arid Caatinga domains. Voucher specimens were deposited in the Coleção Herpetológica do Museu de Fauna da Caatinga of the Centro de Conservação e Manejo de Fauna da Caatinga (CEMAFAUNA-CAATINGA/UNIVASF), in Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil (MFCH 299, 300). The collecting permit (# 29558-1) was granted by Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio). The findings reported here represent the first record of this species in a mountain forest enclave belonging to the Caatinga Domain in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. This extends the known geographical distribution of C. meridionalis ca. 160 km west from the nearest record in the Rio Grande do Norte (municipality of Parnamirim; MUFAL 013-15, 020-021; Freire, 1999), and ca. 135 km northeast from the nearest record in the state of Paraíba (municipality of Teixeira; MZUSP 62780-83, 65605-10; Freire, 1999). Regarding the state of Bahia, the record of C. meridionalis from the Miguel Calmon municipality extends the known geographical distribution ca. 140 km eastwards from the nearest limit of distribution, located in the municipality of Irecê (MZUSP 36707-8; Freire, 1999), and ca. 150 km north-east from the municipality of Lençóis (central Chapada Diamantina) (Juncá, 2005), where specimens were collected in semi deciduous forests.
According to Freire (2001), the occurrence of C. meridionalis in different types of ecosystems shows that this species is tolerant to environments characterized by little shade, although individuals have only been found to occur in leaf litter under trees and shrubs, in contrast to truly open areas. These facts suggest that this species is native to the Atlantic Forest, but due to fragmentation of this biome in northeast Brazil and because of the ecological tolerance of C. meridionalis, the species has persisted in favourable, fragmented habitats within open formations. In accordance with the author aforementioned, Rodrigues (2003) affirms that C. meridionalis is a forest lizard, and therefore must not be considered to represent a typical inhabitant of the Caatinga biome. However, C. meridionalis persists in this biome, and has been collected in sites which are today lacking of forest, such as in Alagoado, municipality of Casa Nova, in the state of Bahia. The reasons for this are still unknown, and could be attributed to factors such as climate, habitat, physiological and behavioural mechanisms, and historical processes or otherwise, all subject to further investigation. Finally, the new records reported here represent an important contribution to the knowledge about the distribution and conservation of squamate reptiles of the Caatinga region, in areas characterized by insufficient information. Acknowledgments. We thank the Programa PELD/CNPq – Caatinga: Estrutura e Funcionamento and the municipal government of Tenente Laurentino Cruz for logistical support, IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis) for the collection permit, and anonymous reviewers for their critical and constructive reviews of the manuscript.
Two new records of Coleodactylus meridionalis
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Figure 2. Published geographic distribution of Coleodactylus meridionalis in north-eastern Brazil: Bahia (BA), Sergipe (SE), Alagoas (AL), Pernambuco (PE), Paraíba (PB), Rio Grande do Norte (RN) and Ceará (CE). See Table 1 for explanation of the numbers.
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Table 1. List of municipalities, districts and conservation units in north-eastern Brazil with occurrence of Coleodactylus meridionalis. Brazilian states Bahia (BA)
Sergipe (SE) Alagoas (AL)
Bahia/Sergipe/Alagoas
Pernambuco (PE)
Paraíba (PB)
Rio Grande do Norte (RN)
Ceará (CE)
Locality 1. Una 2. Camaçari (Arembepe and Guarajuba districts) 3. Mucugê 4. Lençóis (central Chapada Diamantina) 5. Miguel Calmon (New Record) 6. Irecê Freire, 1999 7. Central 8. Buritirama 9. Casa Nova (locality of Alagoado) 10. Parque Nacional Serra de Itabaiana 11. Carmopólis 12. Piaçabuçu 13. São Miguel dos Campos 14. Maceió 15. Rio Largo 16. Flexeiras 17. Murici 18. Estação Ecológica de Xingó (BA: Paulo Afonso; SE: Canindé do São Francisco; AL: Delmiro Gouveia and Olho d’Água do Casado) 19. Rio Formoso 20. Igarassu (Type Locality) 21. Goiana 22. Timbaúba 23. Bezerros (Serra Negra district) 24. Caruaru 25. Buíque (Parque Nacional do Catimbau) 26. Exu 27. João Pessoa 28. Cabedelo 29. Mamanguape 30. Araruna (Parque Estadual Pedra da Boca) 31. Areia 32. Teixeira 33. Baia Formosa 34. Tibau do Sul (Parque Estadual Mata da Pipa) 35. Nísia Floresta 36. Parnamirim 37. Tenente Laurentino Cruz (New Record) 38. Crato (Chapada do Araripe: Floresta Nacional do Araripe) 39. Barbalha (Arajara district) 40. Aratuba 41. Guaramiranga 42. Pacoti (Maciço de Baturité) 43. Pacatuba (Serra da Aratanha) 44. Maranguape (Serra de Maranguape) 45. Ubajara 46. Tianguá (Planalto da Ibiapaba)
Reference Geurgas, Rodrigues and Moritz, 2008 Freire, 1999 Lugli and Juncá, 1998 (Juncá, 2005) This work Geurgas, Rodrigues and Moritz, 2008 Vanzolini, 1968 Rodrigues, 2003 Carvalho, Vilar and Oliveira, 2005 Freire, 1999 Freire, 1999 Vanzolini, 1957 Freire, 2001 Freire, 2001 Freire, 2001 Freire, 2001 Gonçalves et al., 2012
Freire, 1999 Vanzolini, 1968 Freire, 1999 Freire, 1999 Freire, 1999 Freire, 1999 Muniz and Santos, 2009 Vitt, 1995 Santana et al., 2008 Freire, 1996 Vanzolini, 1968 Arzabe et al., 2005 Freire, 1999 Freire, 1999 Freire, 1999 Sousa, 2010 Freire, 1999 Freire, 1999 This work Borges-Nojosa and Caramaschi, 2003; Ribeiro et al., 2008 Freire, 1999 Borges-Nojosa and Caramaschi, 2003 Borges-Nojosa and Caramaschi, 2003 Borges-Nojosa and Caramaschi, 2003 Borges-Nojosa and Caramaschi, 2003 Borges-Nojosa and Caramaschi, 2003 Borges-Nojosa and Caramaschi, 2003 Borges-Nojosa and Caramaschi, 2003
Two new records of Coleodactylus meridionalis References Arzabe, C., Skuk, G.O.S., Santana, G.G., Delfim, F.R., Lima, Y.C.C., Abrantes, S.H.F. (2005): Herpetofauna da área do Curimataú, Paraíba. In: Análise das variações da biodiversidade do bioma caatinga: suporte a estratégias regionais de conservação, p. 264-280. Araújo, F.S., Rodal, M.J.N., Barbosa, M.R.V., Ed., Brasília, Ministério do Meio Ambiente. Ávila-Pires, T.C. (1995): Lizards of Brazilian Amazonia (Reptilia, Squamata). Zoologische Verhandelingen 299: 1-706. Borges-Nojosa, D.M., Caramaschi, U. (2003): Composição e análise comparativa da diversidade e das afinidades biogeográficas dos lagartos e anfisbenídeos (Squamata) dos brejos nordestinos. In: Ecologia e conservação da caatinga, p. 463505. Leal, I.R., Tabarelli, M., Silva, J.M.C., Ed., Recife, Editora Universitária da UFPE. Carvalho, C.M., Vilar, J.C., Oliveira, F.F. (2005): Répteis e anfíbios. In: Parque Nacional Serra de Itabaiana - Levantamento da Biota, p. 39-61. Carvalho, C.M., Vilar, J.C., Org., Aracaju, Ibama, Biologia Geral e Experimental - UFS. Freire, E.M.X. (1996): Estudo ecológico e zoogeográfico sobre a fauna de lagartos (Sauria) das dunas de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte e da restinga de Ponta de Campina, Cabedelo, Paraíba, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 13: 903-921. Freire, E.M.X. (1999): Espécie nova de Coleodactylus Parker, 1926 das dunas de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil, com notas sobre suas relações e dicromatismo sexual no gênero (Squamata, Gekkonidae). Boletim do Museu Nacional 399: 1-14. Freire, E.M.X. (2001): Composição, taxonomia, diversidade e considerações zoogeográficas sobre a fauna de lagartos e serpentes de remanescentes da Mata Atlântica do estado de Alagoas, Brasil. Unpublished PhD thesis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro. Gamble, T., Daza, J.D., Colli, G.R., Vitt, L.J., Bauer, A.M. (2011): A new genus of miniaturized and pug-nosed gecko from South America (Sphaerodactylidae: Gekkota). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163: 1244-1266. Geurgas, S.R., Rodrigues, M.T., Moritz, C. (2008): The genus Coleodactylus (Sphaerodactylinae, Gekkota) revisited: a molecular phylogenetic perspective. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49: 92-101. Gonçalves, U., Torquato, S., Skuk, G., Sena, G.A. (2012): A new species of Coleodactylus Parker, 1926 (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae) from the Atlantic Forest of northeast Brazil. Zootaxa 3204: 20-30 Juncá, F.A. (2005): Anfíbios e répteis. In: Biodiversidade e Conservação da Chapada Diamantina, p. 339-356. Juncá, F.A., Funch, L., Rocha, W., Org., Brasília, Ministério do Meio Ambiente. Kluge, A.G. (1995): Cladistic relationships of sphaerodactyl lizards. American Museum Novitates 3139: 1-23.
27 Lugli, L., Juncá, F.A. (2008): Répteis no Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina e da APA Marimbas-Iraquara. In: Serra do Sincorá, Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina, p. 161-181. Funch, L.S., Funch, R.R., Queiroz, L.P., Ed., Feira de Santana, Editora Radami. Muniz, S.L.S., Santos, E.M. (2009): Répteis do Vale do Catimbau, Buíque - PE. Jornada de Ensino, Pesquisa e Extensão 9: 1-3. Parker, H.W. (1926): The neotropical lizards of the genera Lepidoblepharis, Pseudogonatodes, Lathrogecko and Sphaerodactylus, with the description of a new genus. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 9: 291-301. Parker, H.W. (1935): The frogs, lizards and snakes of British Guiana. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1935: 505-530. Ribeiro, S.C., Ferreira, F.S., Brito, S.V., Santana, G.G., Vieira, W.L.S., Alves, R.R.N., Almeida, W.O. (2008): The squamata fauna of the Chapada do Araripe, northeastern Brazil. Cadernos de Cultura e Ciência 1: 67-76. Rodrigues, M.T. (1996): Lizards, snakes and amphisbaenians from the quaternary sand dunes of the middle Rio São Francisco, Bahia, Brazil. Journal of Herpetology 30: 513-523. Rodrigues, M.T. (2003): Herpetofauna da Caatinga. In: Ecologia e conservação da Caatinga, p. 181-236. Leal, I.R., Tabarelli, M., Silva, J.M.C., Ed., Recife, Editora Universitária da UFPE. Santana, G.G., Vieira, W.L.S., Pereira-Filho, G.A., Delfim, F.R., Lima, Y.C.C., Vieira, K.S. (2008): Herpetofauna em um fragmento de Floresta Atlântica no estado da Paraíba, região nordeste do Brasil. Biotemas 21: 75-84. Sousa, P.A.G. (2010): Estrutura da comunidade de lagartos de um remanescente de Mata Atlântica do estado do Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal. Vanzolini, P.E. (1957): O gênero Coleodactylus (Sauria, Gekkonidae). Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 13: 1-17. Vanzolini, P.E. (1968): Lagartos brasileiros da família Gekkonidae (Sauria). Arquivos de Zoologia 17: 1-84. Vanzolini, P.E. (1980): Coleodactylus septentrionalis, sp. n., with notes on the distribution of the genus (Sauria, Gekkonidae). Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 34: 1-9. Vanzolini, P.E., Ramos-Costa, A.M.M., Vitt, L.J. (1980): Répteis das Caatingas. Rio de Janeiro, Academia Brasileira de Ciências. Vitt, L.J. (1995): The ecology of tropical lizards in the caatinga of northeast Brazil. Occasional Papers of the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 1: 1-29. Vitt, L.J., Sartorius, S.S., Ávila-Pires, T.C.S., Zani, P.A., Espósito, M.C. (2005): Small in a big world: ecology of leaf-litter geckos in New World tropical forests. Herpetological Monographs 19: 137-152.
Accepted by Wouter Beukema
