Eunectes

Abstract: 3 Corresponding author: ligia.oceanica@gmail.com ABSTRACT: Boids occur in North, Central and South America, the West Indies, Africa, including Madagascar, Asia and in some Pa- cific Islands as well. In Brazil they occur in a wide range of habitats and climatic zones throughout the country. This study presents reproductive and morphometric data for eleven Brazilian boid species and subspecies (Boa c. contrictor, B. c. amarali, Corallus caninus, Co. hortulanus, Co. cropanii, Epicrates c. cenchria, Ep c. assisi, Ep c. crassus, Eunectes murinus, Eu. deschauenseei and Eu. notaeus) including some morphometric data for Madagascan (Sanzia madagascariensis and Acrantophis dumerili) and Pacific boas (Candoia carinata, Ca. aspera and Ca. bibroni). These large snakes present a very conservative pattern in terms of seasonal- ity in female reproductive cycles, size at maturity, litter and offspring relative size, and reproductive frequency. The reproductive pattern is similar among the boid species we studied and also similar to pythonids. Females' cycles are non-annual and always seasonal, usually with births occurring mostly in the spring-summer. These snakes show sexual dimorphism occurs in mean body length, head size, spur size and stoutness. In species in which males exhibit combat behavior prior to the mating season, mean body size dimorphism is not present (i.e. Ep. cenchria subspecies). Boid males' reproductive cycles are more variable, being continuous or seasonal depending on the species.

Abstract: The present work aimed to determine the oral microbiotic composition of snakes from Sao Jose do Rio Preto city, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Ten snake species, comprising the families Boidae, Colubridae, Elapidae and Viperidae, were submitted to microbiological examination of their oral cavity, which indicated positivity for all buccal samples. Gram-negative bacilli, gram-negative cocci bacilli, gram-positive bacilli and gram-positive cocci were isolated from the snakes. Among isolated bacterium species, the occurrence of coagulase-negative staphylococci in the buccal cavity of Crotalus durissus (Viperiade), Eunectes murinus (Boidae), Mastigodryas bifossatus (Colubridae) and Bacillus subtilis, common to oral cavity of Bothrops alternatus (Viperidae) and Phalotris mertensi (Colubridae), was detected. It was observed higher diversity of isolated bacteria from the oral cavity of Micrurus frontalis (Elapidae) and Philodryas nattereri (Colubridae), as well as the prevalence of gram-positive baccillus and gram-positive cocci. The composition of the oral microbiota of the studied snakes, with or without inoculating fangs, is diverse and also related to the formation of abscesses at the bite site in the victims of the ophidian accidents, and to pathogenic processes in the snakes that host these microorganisms.

Abstract: We present an annotated checklist of 48 snake species collected in Amazonian Savannas in the Brazilian states of Amapa, Amazonas, Para, Rondonia, and Roraima, based on specimens deposited in the Colecao Herpetologica da Universidade de Brasilia (CHUNB). For each species, we provide information on collector, voucher number, geographic distribution, and previous records. Of the 48 species, 25 have broad distributions and likely range throughout Amazonia. Four species are recorded for the first time in Amapa ( Eunectes deschauenseei, Mastigodryas bifossatus, Philodryas olfersii , and Phimophis guianensis ), three in Amazonas ( Oxyrhopus rhombifer, Phimophis guerini, and Taeniophallus occipitalis ), three in Para ( Mastigodryas pleei, Phimophis guianensis, and Philodryas patagoniensis ), and three in Rondonia ( Drymoluber brazili, Liophis almadensis , and Liophis longiventris ). Mastigodryas pleei and Phimophis guianensis are recorded for the first time in Brazil and 14 species are recorded for the first time in Amazonian Savannas. Seventy-nine species of snakes are known to occur in Amazonian Savannas, and of these species, 22 are found exclusively in these open areas within Amazonia. We classified these species into 10 geographic categories. About 6.5% of the species are endemic to Amazonian Savannas, whereas 28% are restricted to open formations throughout South America. In summary, Amazonian Savanna enclaves harbor endemic species, are poorly known, are threatened by agricultural expansion, and are not protected in conservation units, highlighting the importance of their conservation.

Abstract: The present work represents the first extensive survey of the squamate fauna from caves and archaeological sites in Brazil. More than 1530 cranial and post-cranial pieces of Squamata are analyzed from 14 cave localities in Brazil. Twenty-three taxa are identified at the generic and specific levels, namely: Eunectes murinus, Eunectes sp., Boa constrictor, Corallus cf. hortulanus, Epicrates cenchria, Mastigodryas cf. bifossatus, Chironius sp., Pseustes cf. sulphureus, Tantilla sp., Helicops gr. leopardinus, cf. Philodryas, Bothrops sp., Crotalus durissus, Micrurus corallinus, Micrurus sp., Ameiva ameiva, Cnemidophorus ocellifer, Tupinambis sp., cf. Enyalius, Polychrus sp., Tropidurus sp., Diploglossus cf. fasciatus, and Leposternon sp. We provide detailed morphological descriptions of both cranial and post-cranial elements, and establish a range of diagnostic osteological features from the anatomical pieces analyzed, which, despite the subtleties of many of these features, will aid in identifying genera and species of living Squamata. Furthermore, some elements belonging to the archaeological sites exhibit burn traces and cut marks that human predation on squamates during the Late Quaternary in Central Brazil.