Proceedings of the fifth mountain lion workshop: 27

52 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH MOUNTAIN LION WORKSHOP
Population Density
per Km2
Less than 2
2.1 - 10.0
10.1 - 25.0
25.1 - 50.0
50.1 - 100.0
more than 100.1
Source: IBGE
Atlas Nacional do Brasil
0 250 500 750
Km
BRAZIL
HUMAN OCCUPATION
Manaus
70° 60° 50°
São Paulo
Florianópolis
Equator
0°
10°
Salvador
Atlantic
Ocean
20°
Rio de Janeiro
40°
Tropic of
Capricorn
Figure 8. Map of Brazil showing high human occupation
in the range of P.c. concolor.
CONCLUSION
The differences found between the south and
southeast Brazilian groups of mountain lions and the size of
the sample analyzed suggest we have identified a new
subspecies. However, all specimens come from a restricted
area with no specimens available to suggest clines or
gradations between populations. The populations are about
500 km apart, with similar vegetation types and no complete
geographic barrier to justify this dissimilarity (see Fig 7).
Migration between populations may not be enough to assure
the same phenotype. There is no definitive answer now, but
before we do have the answer to this biological questions
we suggest treating these as distinct variations as a
precaution if genetic variability is to be preserved.
The type locality (northwest Brazil) here
represented by only 1 specimen with 3 measurements
outside the range of south and southeast Brazilian
populations. It does not seem to be just a clinal variation.
Two of the measurements are smaller, as expected from a
specimen collected near the equatorial line, but is has a
wider interorbital breadth, wider (also outside the range)
than the population from the northern region of Brazil at
about the same latitude (Mazzolli 1992). The vegetation of
northeast Brazil is xerophic and the climate is semi-arid
with several months of drought, favoring the occurrence of
a distinct subspecies (Fig 7). Albeit based on 1 sample, the
measurements fall outside the range of the group. Chances
are that high human occupation on the range of P. concolor
concolor (Fig 8) will lead to more fragmented habitats,
decreasing the chances of emigration between populations.
30°
Figure 9. A possible split of Puma concolor concolor
based on the current results.
The mountain lions from northeast Argentina and
South Brazil seem to belong to the same group, although a
larger sample from Argentina is preferable before we draw
any conclusions.
The specimen collected in Uruguay does not fit in
any of the groups we analyzed. But again, it is only one
specimen and we have not examined the specimen first
hand. Based on what we have, however, we also
recommend conservation measures to protect them as a
valuable stock of genetic variation. A suggested map of
subspecific variation based on our results can be seen in
Fig. 9.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank biologists Américo Ribeiro Tunes and
Marlise Becker, from the IBAMA-Santa Catarina for their
continuous support. We thank Dr. Paulo Vanzollini and
Professor Eraldo Britski from the Sâo Paulo Museum of
Zoology (MZUSP) for allowing us to examine their
collection. Dr. Juan Alfredo Ximenez Trianon of the
Department of Biology of the Federal University of Santa
Catarina-UFSAC, by leading the opening of a division for
mammal studies at this institution allowed us to engage in