Assemblage of squamate reptiles in a natural remnant of Cerrado in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

Considered one of the most threatened biomes, the Cerrado currently has more than half of its original area converted into other types of land-use and little is known about the reptiles inhabiting this biome in Minas Gerais state. We quantified the species richness of Squamata and assessed the faunal composition in the Reserva Biológica Unilavras – Boqueirão. We recorded six snake species and 10 lizard species in the various physiognomies. The highest species richness was observed in the gallery forest, followed by the cerrado sensustricto and rupestrian fields. Gallery forest and cerrado sensustricto had similar compositions. The rarefaction curves suggest it is possible that other species may occur in the study area as well as new occurrence records of some species and the distribution expansion of others for this biome in Minas Gerais.