Ilha da Queimada Grande

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Ilha da Queimada Grande
Nickname: Snake Island
Ilha da Queimada Grande - Itanhaem3.jpg
Aerial view of Ilha da Queimada Grande
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Ilha da Queimada Grande
Location of Ilha da Queimada Grande in Brazil
Ilha da Queimada Grande
Geography
Location Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates 24°29′10″S46°40′30″W / 24.48611°S 46.67500°W / -24.48611; -46.67500
Area430,000 m2 (4,600,000 sq ft)
Highest elevation206 m (676 ft)
Administration
Brazil
StateState of São Paulo
Municipality Itanhaém
Administered by Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation
Demographics
Population0

Ilha da Queimada Grande, more commonly referred to as Snake Island, is an island off the coast of Brazil in the Atlantic Ocean. It has become famous for its abundance of snakes, hence its common name. The island, which has a land area of 43 hectares (106 acres), is administered as part of the municipality of Itanhaém in the State of São Paulo. It has a temperate climate, and its terrain varies from bare rock to rainforest.

Contents

Snake Island is the only natural home of the critically endangered, venomous golden lancehead pit viper (Bothrops insularis), whose diet consists of birds. The snakes became trapped on the island thousands of years ago, following the end of the last ice age, when rising ocean levels disconnected the island from the mainland. The ensuing evolutionary pressure allowed the snakes to adapt to their new environment, increasing rapidly in population and rendering the island dangerous to public visitation.

Queimada Grande is closed to the public for the protection of both people and snakes; access is available only to the Brazilian Navy and selected researchers vetted by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, the Brazilian federal conservation unit. [1] [2] [3]

Geography

Located approximately 33 kilometres (21 mi) off the coast of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, the island of Queimada Grande is approximately 430,000 square metres (106 acres) in area and ranges in elevation from 0 to 206 metres (676 ft) above sea level. It has a temperate climate that is similar to that of its neighbouring island Nimer. Rainforest covers 0.25 square kilometres (62 acres) of the island, with the remaining area consisting of barren rocks and open grassland. Queimada Grande ranges from an average of 18.38 °C (65.08 °F) in August to 27.28 °C (81.10 °F) in March, and rainfall ranges from 0.2 millimetres (0.0079 in) per month in July to 135.2 millimetres (5.32 in) in December. [1] [4]

History

Ilha da Queimada Grande partly consists of barren rock, a result of deforestation, which is the origin of the island's name: the term queimada is Portuguese for "forest fire", due to historical attempts by locals to clear land for a banana plantation by burning. A lighthouse was constructed in 1909 to steer ships away from the island, and the last human inhabitants left when the lighthouse was automated in the 1920s. [5] [6] [7]

The island and the Ilha Queimada Pequena to the west are protected by the 33 hectares (82 acres) Ilhas Queimada Pequena e Queimada Grande Area of Relevant Ecological Interest, created in 1985. [8] The Brazilian Navy has closed the island to the public to protect human and snake life. The only people allowed on the island are research teams who receive waivers to collect data. [9]

Fauna

The critically endangered golden lancehead (Bothrops insularis) Bothrops insularis Instituto Butanta (2).jpg
The critically endangered golden lancehead (Bothrops insularis)

The island was previously thought to have a population of about 430,000 snakes, but recent estimates are much lower. The first systematic study of the population of the golden lancehead (Bothrops insularis), which lives exclusively on Queimada Grande, found the number to be 2,000 to 4,000, concentrated almost entirely in the rainforest area of the island. [10] [11] This may be due to a limited amount of resources. [5] Despite a population of 41 recorded bird species on Queimada Grande, the golden lancehead preys on only two: the southern house wren (Troglodytes musculus) and the Chilean elaenia (Elaenia chilensis). The golden lancehead is categorized as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The island is also home to a smaller population of Dipsas albifrons , a non-venomous snake species. [1] [11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Marques, Otavio A. V.; Kasperoviczus, Karina; Almeida-Santos, Selma M. (2013). "Reproductive Ecology of the Threatened Pitviper Bothrops insularis from Queimada Grande Island, Southeast Brazil". Journal of Herpetology. 47 (3): 393–399. doi:10.1670/11-267. S2CID   86639586.
  2. ↑ Thomas, Emily (4 July 2014). "Brazil's 'Snake Island' Is The Place Of Nightmares, We're Pretty Sure". Huff Post Science. TheHuffingtonPost. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Exposição traz história da ilha que abriga única espécie de cobra no mundo" (DOC) (in Portuguese). Secretaria De Comunicação Social, Prefeitura Municipal De Itanhaém. 2007. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  4. ↑ Cox, Savannah (17 December 2012). "Four Tiny Islands That You'll Never Visit". all-that-is-interesting. PBH network. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  5. 1 2 Channel, Discovery (29 June 2015). "Treasure Quest: Snake Island Facts". Discovery.[ failed verification ]
  6. ↑ Marques, Otavio, A. V.; Martins, Marcio; Sazima, Ivan (2002). "A jararaca da ilha da Queimada Grande" [The pit viper of Queimada Grande Island](PDF). Ciência Hoje (in Portuguese). 31 (2). Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência.: 56–59. Retrieved 8 August 2015.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ "Snake Island". vice.com. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  8. ↑ ARIE das Ilhas Queimada Pequena e Queimada Grande [ARIE of the islands of Queimada Pequena and Queimada Grande] (in Portuguese), ISA: Instituto Socioambiental, retrieved 20 November 2016{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  9. ↑ "Snake Island (Ilha da Queimada Grande)". Atlas Obscura . 15 August 2023 [original publication date 21 July 2016].[ better source needed ]
  10. ↑ Martins, Marcio; Sawaya, Ricardo J.; Marques, Otavio A. V. (2008). "A First Estimate of the Population Size of the Critically Endangered Lancehead, Bothrops insularis". South American Journal of Herpetology. 3 (2): 168–174. doi:10.2994/1808-9798(2008)3[168:AFEOTP]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   84336530.
  11. 1 2 Marques, Otavio A. V.; Martins, Marcio; Develey, Pedro F.; Macarrão, Arthur; Sazima, Ivan (2012). "The golden lancehead Bothrops insularis (Serpentes: Viperidae) relies on two seasonally plentiful bird species visiting its island habitat". Journal of Natural History. 46 (13–14): 885–895. Bibcode:2012JNatH..46..885M. doi:10.1080/00222933.2011.654278. S2CID   53357655.
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