Checklist of Amphibians and Reptiles of Reserva Biológica do Tapirapé, Pará, Brazil

: In this study we present a list of amphibians and reptiles from the Reserva Biológica do Tapirapé (REBIOTA), an area in the Amazonian rainforest in Pará State, Brazil. We sampled the area for 21 days, in both dry and rainy seasons, using pitfall traps and active searching methods. Our efforts resulted in the discovery of 35 species of amphibians and 27 species of reptiles. This study provides the first list of amphibians and adds eigh new species of reptiles for the Carajás region.


Introduction
The Amazonian morphoclimatic domain extends over an area of 6,717,772 km2, from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern slopes of the Andes, covering parts of nine countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela (Ab'Saber 1970). The study site is located in the southeastern region of the State of Pará, in an area of intense mining industry known as Carajás. To buffer the local environment from the extensive human pressure in the region, a large area of over 800,000 ha of protected lands was established and called Mosaico de Carajás. As the name suggests, it is a conglomeration of five different reserves: Reserva Biológica do Tapirapé (REBIOTA), Floresta Nacional do Tapirapé-Aquiri, Floresta Nacional de Carajás, Floresta Nacional do Itacaiunas and Área de Proteção Ambiental do Igarapé Gelado.
Due to the historical background of mineral exploration in the area, the first scientific surveys in Carajás began Abstract: In this study we present a list of amphibians and reptiles from the Reserva Biológica do Tapirapé (REBIOTA), an area in the Amazonian rainforest in Pará State, Brazil. We sampled the area for 21 days, in both dry and rainy seasons, using pitfall traps and active searching methods. Our efforts resulted in the discovery of 35 species of amphibians and 27 species of reptiles. This study provides the first list of amphibians and adds eigh new species of reptiles for the Carajás region. Data were collected over two field surveys (August 3 rd to 12 th [dry season] and November 29 th to December 9 th [rainy season], 2008) for a total of 21 days of effective sampling. We used two complementary sampling methods: active searching and pitfall traps. Each line of pitfall trap was made using eight 60 L buckets placed eight m apart, with a drift fence 80 cm in height. The active searching method was conducted during both day and night, during day and night in all areas inside the REBIOTA, including trails in the forest and along the river (Figure 2) without standardization.
The specimens were collected under permit SISBIO number 16826-1 issued by the Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA-ICMBio) and deposited in the herpetological collection of the Museu de Zoologia da

Results and Discussion
From a total of 21 days of fieldwork, 35 species of amphibians and 27 species of reptiles were recorded (Table 1; Appendix II). Among the species collected in the pitfall traps, Engystomops petersii, Rhinella margaritifera and Allobates marchesianus were the most abundant respectively, together representing almost 60% of all specimens collected with this method.
During the first collecting period, in the dry season, we collected 12 species that were not recorded in the rainy season, one amphibian (Allophryne ruthveni) and 10 reptiles ( Most amphibians collected belong to the family Hylidae, which tends to be more active during the rainy season. Twenty-nine species were found in both seasons, such as the tortoises Chelonoidis carbonaria and C. denticulata and the lizards Ameiva ameiva and Uranoscodon superciliosus. The region of REBIOTA was first surveyed in the 1970's (Cunha et al. 1985;Nascimento et al. 1987). Cunha et al. (1985) collected over an 18-month period in the Carajás region and recorded 77 species of reptiles, 17 of which were also recorded in this study. Two years later, Nascimento et al. (1987) published an updated list of reptiles from the same region, and added an additional 17 species. Among them they describe Gonatodes eladioi from a location approximately 80 km from our study area. Although the REBIOTA is in the same area studied by Nascimento et al. (1987), this is the first time this species has been recorded outside the type locality.
Our study provides the first list of amphibians and adds the following eight species of reptiles for the region of Mosaico

Corallus hortulanus and Erythrolamprus taeniogaster.
Even though it is a widespread species, the presence of E. taeniogaster represents a new record for this area.

Conservation
According to the National Protected Areas Plan (Plano Nacional de Áreas Protegidas), the REBIOTA is classified in the map of Priority Areas for Conservation, Sustainable Use and Benefit Sharing of the Brazilian Biodiversity (MMA 2007), as a protected area of extremely high biological importance. The greater importance of REBIOTA is mainly due to the fact that it is a representative fragment of the original vegetation, which is rare in the private areas in the region occupied by large farms and agricultural projects. Even with extensive protected areas nearby, the REBIOTA is the only area of "Integral Protection", and that gives it a central role in the conservation of species on this Amazonian region. Our records, together with the previous works by Cunha et al. (1985) and Nascimento et al. (1987) help to create a more comprehensive list of species of reptiles and amphibians in the Carajás region and help specialists to make more appropriate decisions regarding the diversity of that area.