THE SNAKE ASSEMBLAGE OF THE PANTANAL AT POCONE, WESTERN BRAZIL - FAUNAL COMPOSITION AND ECOLOGICAL SUMMARY

The faunal composition and ecological features were studied in a snake assemblage in the Pantanal, an open and seasonally flooded area in we stern Brazil. Twenty six species of snakes in 19 genera and five famil ies, and their use of habitat, substrate, time, and food were recorded . Hydrodynastes gigas and Eunectes notaeus, the two commonest and larg est species, explore the widest range of habitats and food resources. Trends in use of substrate, time of activity and food were compared to those known for snake assemblages from two open and two forested area s in the neotropics. The comparisons indicate that features such as ve rtical distribution may bc viewed essentially from an ecological persp ective, while trends in food use benefit from the addition of a faunal perspective.