Non-volant mammals of the Maracaju Mountains, southwestern Brazil: Composition, richness and conservation

Abstract

We report the results of the non-volant mammal survey at the Maracaju Mountains located in the central region of Mato Grosso do Sul State, southwestern Brazil. The sampling encompasses different vegetation types of the Cerrado domain that occur in the region. The mammal survey was conducted by the use of pitfalls (1804 bucket-nights), live traps (7508 trap-nights), direct observation and indirect evidence (624 hours of observations). Fifty-eight non-volant mammal species of 9 orders and 20 families were recorded, representing 12% of the Brazilian terrestrial mammal species. The non-volant mammal community of Maracaju Mountains is typical of the Cerrado, but some species found occur in other domains, especially from Pantanal, Atlantic and Amazonian Forests. Among the recorded species, 11 are threatened in Brazil or on a global scale. Therefore, the Maracaju Mountains have a high richness of mammals with endangered and rare species that are still present in the extensive natural areas which persist in the region. These areas are very important for conservation of mammals and should be considered relevant areas for the establishment of Conservation Units in Cerrado and in the Mato Grosso do Sul State.