Distribuição Histórica e Recente de Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus, 1758 (Pilosa, Myrmecophagidae) no Estado do Paraná, Brasil

Abstract

Data on the occurrence of the giant anteater in southern Brazil, especially in the state of Paraná, are isolated and often anecdotal, despite its importance in conservation analyses. This study aims to fill the gap by gathering information on the occurrence of the species in Paraná state through a review of historical and toponymic reports, revision of specimens in collections, and unpublished information from us and other researchers and naturalists. This revision obtained 58 records of Myrmecophaga tridactyla in 38 localities in Paraná, 19 of which occurred in the last ten years. These records confirm that the giant anteater had a wide distribution in the state, occurring not only in open areas such as Campos and Cerrado, but also in the plateau forest formations of Paraná (semideciduous and Araucaria forest). Recent records, however, are concentrated in the remaining Campos and Cerrado of Paraná and Iguaçu National Park, which are dominated by semideciduous forest. Considering the extreme rarity of current southern records and the possibility of regional extinction in other southern Brazil states (Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul), the Paraná records may refer to the last specimens of southern Brazil, which makes them essential to the conservation of the species.