Fauna of Amphibians, Reptiles, and Mammals of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil

Carlos F. D. Rocha, Helena G. Bergallo, José P. Pombal Jr., Lena Geise, Monique Van Sluys, Ronaldo Fernandes e Ulisses Caramaschi.

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Abstract: The Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest is considered one of the ecossystems with highest biodiversity and rate of endemisms of the planet. In the latitudes of the State of Rio de Janeiro these characteristics are accentuated, defining the region as a relevant area in the “hot spot” Atlantic Rain Forest. In this study, we present the species of amphibians, reptiles, and mammals occurring in the political-geographical limits of the State of Rio de Janeiro, as a result of investigations in the literature, collections, and personal records of researchers. The occurrence of 478 species was registered, including 166 species of amphibians distributed in nine families, 127 species of reptiles in 21 families, and 185 species of mammals in 36 families. Among these, 35 amphibians, five reptiles, and three mammals were considered endemic to the State of Rio de Janeiro. The subspecies attributed to the fauna of the State are referred, as well as the introduced and the undescribed species. The high diversity found may be, in large part, explained by the characteristics of irregular relief and edaphic particularities of the region, which promote the occurrence of different habitats, such as lowland coastal forests, dense montane ombrophylle forests, highland open formations, coastal sandbanks, mangroves, rivers, rivulets, lakes, lagoons, and swamps, as well as coastal marine environments.