Saturday, July 15, 2017

[Herpetology • 2017] Extension of the Geographical Distribution of Schneider’s Dwarf Caiman, Paleosuchus trigonatus (Schneider, 1801) (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae), in the Amazon–Cerrado Transition, Brazil


Male Paleosuchus trigonatus captured in Claro River

(Campos, Muniz & Magnusson, 2017) 

Abstract
We present new records of occurrence of Schneider’s Dwarf Caiman, Paleosuchus trigonatus and extend its geographical distribution. Eight individuals were caught in the following locations: Sangue River, in the municipality of Campo Novo dos Parecis, Claro River and Marapi River, in the municipality of São José do Rio Claro, and tributaries of the Juruena River, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. These records extend the geographical distribution of the species nearly 500 km south of the limit given in published range maps.

Keywords: New records; conservation; Paleosuchus; Mato Grosso; Brazilian Amazon


Figure 1. Male specimen of Paleosuchus trigonatus captured in Claro River, showing some diagnostic characters.
A. General view of the body. B. Head shape. C. Arrow indicates the two scales of the sacral region. D. Post-occipital region.

Figure 3. New records of the geographic distribution of Paleosuchus trigonatus in the Sangue, Claro, Marapi and Alegre rivers in the Cerrado biome, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Triangle = 8 individuals captured; inverted triangle = 3 individuals observed and not captured.

 Zilca Campos, Fábio Muniz and William E Magnusson. 2017. Extension of the Geographical Distribution of Schneider’s Dwarf Caiman, Paleosuchus trigonatus (Schneider, 1801) (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae), in the Amazon–Cerrado Transition, Brazil.
 Check List. 13(4); 91-94.  DOI:  10.15560/13.4.91