This study presents the diversity of lizard species at the Imbassaí Preserve, located in the Mata de São João municipality, on the northern coast of Bahia region, Brazil, with special attention to the threatened and endemic species. We present the main results on richness and abundance, from a long term monitoring program and especially from the period between November 2008 and June 2010. We applied the visual search method associated with pitfall traps and random encounters, on a 200m linear transect, in four different vegetation habitats. We detected 26 lizard species, distributed in 19 genera of 10 families. The study reveals a high diversity area for lizards, within the restinga ecosystem along the northern coast line, and therefore contributes to the knowledge of the herpetofauna on the northern coast of the Bahia region, as well as to future management and monitoring programs.

Politicians and environmental professionals have pointed to the lack of scientific knowledge to support legislation for planning urban centers. Thus, this essay aims to provide ecological knowledge to assist politicians and environmental professionals in decision making regarding the Brazilian urban zoning. As a science, ecology provides the necessary knowledge to assist the creation of guidelines and standards for urban zoning. Specifically, landscape ecology shows different methods of work, which have as parameters the qualification and quantification of urban environments. These parameters can be used as criteria for planning sustainable cities. The field of urban ecology has demonstrated the importance of conserving green and blue areas (water bodies) in cities, as well as the need for the formation of multidisciplinary teams for urban management and elaboration of public policies pointed to zoning sustainability strategies. Generally, ecology show contributions that assist in the creation of guidelines and norms for Brazilian urban zoning. The suggestions provided through this essay are a starting point for improving the formulation of laws designed to develop and strengthen the legislation on Brazilian urban zoning.

A herpetofauna da Caatinga continua subestimada. A falta de conhecimento levou essa região a ser considerada de baixa riqueza e endemismo. Este estudo tem como objetivo determinar a composição e riqueza de espécies da herpetofauna no município de Nordestina. Os dados foram coletados utilizando diferentes técnicas amostrais, como armadilha de interceptação e queda e procura ativa. A riqueza da herpetofauna foi estimada utilizando o estimador Bootstrap. Além disso, foram calculados também a dominância e equitabilidade por grupo taxonômico. No total, foram registrados 3.969 espécimes distribuídos em 49 espécies. As serpentes apresentaram maior riqueza, enquanto os lagartos foram mais abundantes. Para os anuros, estimou-se, aproximadamente, 14 ± 0,8 espécies, com alta uniformidade (índice de Pielou J’ = 65,8%) e baixa dominância (D = 23,3%), enquanto que, para os répteis, o valor de riqueza estimado foi o mesmo observado, também com alta uniformidade (J’ = 55,7%) e baixa dominância (D = 23,9%). No geral, a área apresenta um padrão de equitabilidade e baixa dominância, o que é uma característica dos ambientes mais conservados e nos leva a destacar a importância desta região para a manutenção da biodiversidade do bioma Caatinga.

Here, we describe the sighting of Philodryas nattereri preying on a Tropidurus hispidus lizard in Sento-Sé – Bahia, Brazil, located in the central portion of the Caatinga, in a high priority conservation area of the biome. The event was observed in April 2021. This study provides information on the diet of this animal in the Caatinga biome. It thus provides another account of the natural history of snakes, which in itself is a valuable contribution to scientific knowledge since little is known about these animals due to their rarity in nature.