Diversidade de mamíferos na Região Leste do Pará

Abstract

Despite the fact that the eastern region of Pará presents a great diversity of mammals, most of the studies carried out have been in the interior of the continent, since the coast is traditionally seen as a poorer extension of the adjacent continental areas, hence the Amazon coast represents a large gap in knowledge about the diversity and geographic distribution of Brazilian fauna. The present work aims to contribute to the knowledge of mammalian diversity in the study area, seeking to help clarify questions related to the zoogeography of the region. Using data collected in the most recent compilations on the geographic distribution of mammals, a list of the expected diversity for the coastal and continental areas of eastern Pará was prepared. A survey of localities recorded in the literature and in the collections of MPEG, MZUSPE MN (National Museum) is being carried out to construct a map indicating the occurrences of these species, these activities are still in progress. The preliminary listing indicated that 68 species belonging to 23 families and 8 orders can be expected for the coastal area, and 78 species belonging to 29 families and 8 orders for the continental area. These results seem to indicate that the current knowledge still lacks a consistent body of data to establish the real diversity of the region, as well as the differences between these areas, calling attention to the need for new inventories that will clarify these issues.