A SURVEY OF SMALL MAMMALS IN THE ATLANTIC FOREST OF THE NORTHWESTERN REGION OF RIO DE JANEIRO STATE

Abstract

Small mammals (marsupials and rodents) are one of the most diverse groups of Atlantic Forest mammals, representing 40% of the total diversity of mammals in this biome. Some regions, such as northwestern Rio de Janeiro state, have gaps in mammal inventories. Therefore, we performed small mammal inventories in four fragmented landscapes in the northwestern Rio de Janeiro state using live traps and camera traps. Capture transects were placed both in forest fragments and the altered matrix. We captured six species of marsupials, six Sigmodontinae rodents and one echimyid rodent. The small mammal fauna recorded in this study was composed predominantly of typical Atlantic Forest species, with four endemic species. Furthermore, we obtained the first record of Calomys cerqueirai in the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro state as well as its syntopy with C. tener. These findings expand the reported geographic distribution of both species.