"Alphonse Richard Hoge" biological collection and its 120 years of contribution to the knowledge of Brazilian snakes

• Grant number: 23/18266-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: January 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Thaís Barreto Guedes da Costa
• Grantee: Daniela Cristina da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/07161-6 - Evolution and biogeography of the herpetofauna: patterns, process and implications for conservation in a scenario of environmental and climate changes, AP.JP

Abstract

The emergence of the "Alphonse Richard Hoge" snake collection is intertwined with the history of the founding of the Butantan Institute itself, in 1901. Since its inception, it has been an active and continually growing collection. For a long time it was considered one of the most prominent collections in the world and certainly the most significant in the Neotropical region, with around 80 thousand specimens of snakes listed. In 2010, this collection was hit by a tragic fire causing substantial loss in its collection. Even so, specimens of snakes that were lying on land and were, at some point, examined, photographed and identified by herpetologists support an important basis of knowledge about the distribution of Brazilian snakes (see Nogueira et al., 2019). This project aims to present the role of the "Alphonse Richard Hoge" snake collection in the knowledge of Brazilian snakes through a synthesis addressing their taxonomic, spatial and temporal spectrum. We intend to contribute to giving new meaning to the historical importance of his legacy and publicizing the importance of biological collections as an important source of knowledge about biodiversity.