Road-Kills of Snakes in a Tropical Rainforest in the Central Amazon Basin, Brazil

We present results obtained from the record of 156 snake specimens belonging to 42 species, that were run over in a 50 km stretch of paved roads located in the Geologo Pedro de Moura Operational Base in the Urucu oil field, municipality of Coari, state of Amazonas, Brazil. Of the total specimens collected, 61.54% belong to primarily terrestrial species, 16.03% are primarily arboreal, 10.89% are semi-arboreal, 7.69% are fossorial, and one specimen (0.64%) is aquatic. Just over half (57.05%) of the specimens are diurnal, 25.64% are nocturnal, and 12.82% are cathemeral. The vast majority (96%) of snakes were > 200 mm snout-vent length. Aggregation zones were identified in localities where vehicle traffic is more intense, indicating that the highways are characterized as true physical barriers. We suggest that a collective effort is necessary to bring to light the ecological importance of snakes in the environment by conducting environmental education practices and trying to eliminate the myth that all snakes are dangerous to humans. Moreover, these practices should be applied jointly with programs that reduce speed on the roads, which can reduce the number of snake road-kills.