Diversidad de mamíferos medianos y grandes de la cuenca del río La Novia, Purús

The Ucayali region has a high diversity of mammals, with 38% of the total recorded for Peru; however, is also one of the less studied regions and one of the most threatened, mainly because of a high anthropic activity. At present, this region contains areas with large information gaps, one of them in Purús near the frontier with Brasil. We present here an assessment of the diversity of medium and large mammals at the concesion para conservación Río La Novia (CCRLN), Purús, Ucayali, to add information in order to fulfill the information gap. We employed a Linear transect method to register mammals through direct and indirect evidences. In addition, interviews were also used but were considered as not-confirmed records; therefore they were not used for quantitative analysis. We recorded 40 species based on 283 h (=319 km) of census, and six species with not-confirmed records. The best represented orders were Primates (30%), Carnivores (22.5%) and Rodents (20%); and the most frequent species were the monkeys Ateles chamek and Leontocebus weddelli. We confirmed the presence of the monkeys Callimico goeldii and Callicebus toppini for the region. In addition, we updated the taxonomy of the registered species and listed the expected species. According to the Peruvian legislation, ten species are in a threatened status, and nine by the IUCN. In addition, CITES listed 24 species in appendixes I, II or III. This high diversity, especially of primates, highlights the importance of CCRLN for the regional biodiversity and Conservation efforts in Purus.