Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The mammals of northeastern Brazil: a preliminary assessment

1981; Volume: 50; Linguagem: Inglês

10.5962/p.214487

1943-6300

Michael A. Mares, Michael R. Willig, Karl E. Streilein, Thomas E. Lacher,

Mollusks and Parasites Studies

Mammals were collected in northeastern Brazil between 1975 and 1978. Research was concentrated in the State of Pernambuco in the environs of the Municipality of Exu and in the State of Ceara, in the Municipality of Crato.Additionally, a representative sample of mammals collected throughout the Caatingas and housed in the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro and the Museum of Zoology of the University of Sao Paulo was examined.Distributional data as well as ecological notes are presented in this preliminary report.Major collecting localities are also described. Annals of Carnegie MuseumVOL. 50 CollectionsMost of our collecting was done in the immediate area of the Municipality of Exu, Pernambuco, and the Municipality of Crato, Ceara, particularly on the Chapada do Araripe.Occasional collecting trips were made to other areas, but in comparison with the work performed in the Exu-Crato area, these were minor in scope.In order to obtain a better idea of mammal distribution patterns in the Caatingas, we examined the extensive collection of Caatingas mammals housed in the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro and the Museum of Zoology of the University of Sao Paulo.We also attempted to collect specimens in most of the major macrohabitats of the Northeast.The Northeast of Brazil contains five principal vegetation zones including: Rainforest along the Atlantic coast, Cerrado, Caatingas, Cerrado-Caatingas contact zone, and Palm Forest.We were able to do some collecting in each of these regions, but our samples are far from adequate to arrive at a definitive faunal assessment for any region.During this study, 6576 mammal specimens representing seven orders, 21 families, 56 genera, and 74 species were collected.An additional 630 specimens representing four orders, six families, 16 genera, and 17 species were examined in museum collections.Upon completion of museum specimen processing, half of our collection will be housed in the Zoology Museum of the University of Sao Paulo and half will be housed in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.A complete list of species, including those observed but not captured, is as follows: