AN UNEXPECTED RECORD OF SPEOTHOS VENATICUS (CARNIVORA, CANIDAE) IN THE CAATINGA DOMAIN.

Abstract

This paper reports the first record of the bush dog (Speothos venaticus) in the Caatinga morphoclimatic domain, more precisely in a humid forest refuge located 870 m above the sea level, in the municipality of Aratuba, Ceará State, Northeastern Brazil. This canid has a wide distribution in South America, however, precise locality records are omitted in most publications, resulting in distributional maps with little informative contens for ecological and biogeografphic studies. Thus, we added a list of localities documented with voucher specimens from 15 American and European museums to update the current knowledge on distribution of the species.  Keywords: Speothos venaticus, distribution record, Northeastern Brazil, Caatinga