TERRESTRIAL MAMMALS OF THE JEQUITINHONHA RIVER BASIN, BRAZIL: A TRANSITION AREA BETWEEN ATLANTIC FOREST AND CERRADO.

Here we present an extensive survey for non-volant mammals along the margins of the Jequitinhonha River, which represents a contact area between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes. Our data were obtained after 13 trapping expeditions (from 2005 to 2012) on both banks of the river, from its source to its mouth, enriched by data obtained from a literature review and voucher specimens deposited in six mammal collections. All collected specimens were identified through their karyotypes and/or morphology. We obtained data for 75 localities (34 at the rigth margin, 42 at the left margin; 30 in the Cerrado and 45 in the Atlantic Forest). We obtained voucher records for 91 species, ca. 17% of all known Brazilian terrestrial non-volant mammals. Our results include range extensions for six species (Monodelphis scalops, Thylamys velutinus, Calomys mattevii, Wiedomys pyrrhorhinos, Galea spixii, Kerodon rupestris), and karyotype information for 26 species (11 marsupials and 15 rodents), with four new karyotypes. While most species have wide geographical range in both biomes, 26 were recorded only in the Cerrado and 19 were recorded only in the Atlantic Forest. Recorded species represent 28.7% (6.3% endemic) of the species known from the Cerrado and 21.5% (22.2% endemic) of those from the Atlantic Forest. The richness of the fauna recorded in this region supports its importance for the understanding of mammal biogeography, diversity and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]