First record of the globally-threatened Cerrado endemic snake <i>Philodryas livida</i> (Amaral, 1923) (Serpentes, Dipsadidae) from Paraguay, and the importance of the Reserva Natural Laguna Blanca to its conservation

Abstract

Paraguay. Reserva Natural Laguna Blanca (RNLB), Departamento San Pedro. (23º46’52.6”S, 56º17’28.9”W). RNLB is a 804 hectare reserve consisting of over 400 hectares of near pristine Cerrado, a patch of degraded Atlantic Forest, and areas of transitional semi-deciduous, semi-humid gallery forest. The four main Cerrado ecotopes are present at RNLB and grow on a predominately sandy substrate (Eiten, 1972; 1978). The reserve is based around an eponymously-named freshwater lake of 157 hectares which, geologically-speaking, is possibly the only true lake in Paraguay (Guyra Paraguay, 2008).