Identification of the sharks of the genus Etmopterus Rafinesque, 1810 (Elasmobranchii: Etmopteridae) from the upper slope of southern Brazil, with comparison between the species E. bigelowi Shirai & Tachikawa, 1993 and E. pusillus Lowe, 1839

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A phylogenetic study of the subtribe Dicrepidiina (Elateridae, Elaterinae, Ampedini)

It is presented a cladistic analysis of the Dicrepidiina aiming to test the monophyletism of the subtribe and to establish the relationships among the genera. The subtribe is composed by 36 genera and all of them, except Asebis, Lamononia, Neopsephus, Semiotopsis and Spilomorphus were included in the analysis. Fifty two species, especially the type-species of each genus were studied: Achrestus flavocinctus (Candèze, 1859), A. venustus Champion, 1895, Adiaphorus gracilis Schwarz, 1901, A. ponticerianus Candèze, 1859, Anoplischiopsis bivittatus Champion, 1895, Anoplischius bicarinatus Candèze, 1859, A. conicus Candèze, 1900, A. haematopus Candèze, 1859, A. pyronotus Candèze, 1859, Atractosomus flavescens (Germar, 1839), Blauta cribraria (Germar, 1844), Calopsephus apicalis (Schwarz, 1903), Catalamprus angustus (Fleutiaux, 1902), Crepidius flabellifer (Erichson, 1847), C. resectus Candèze, 1859, Cyathodera auripilosus Costa, 1968, C. lanugicollis (Candèze, 1859), C. longicornis Blanchard, 1843, Dayakus angularis Candèze, 1893, Dicrepidius ramicornis (Palisot de Beauvois, 1805), Dipropus brasilianus (Germar, 1824), D. factuellus Candèze, 1859, D. laticollis (Eschscholtz, 1829), D. pinguis (Candèze, 1859), D. schwarzi (Becker, 1961), Elius birmanicus Candèze, 1893, E. dilatatus Candèze, 1878, Heterocrepidius gilvellus Candèze, 1859, H. ventralis Guérin-Méneville, 1838, Lampropsephus cyaneus (Candèze, 1878), Loboederus appendiculatus (Perty, 1830), Olophoeus gibbus Candèze, 1859, Ovipalpus pubescens Solier, 1851, Pantolamprus ligneus Candèze, 1896, P. mirabilis Candèze, 1896, P. perpulcher Westwood, 1842, Paraloboderus glaber Golbach, 1990, Proloboderus crassipes Fleutiaux, 1912, Propsephus beniensis (Candèze, 1859), P. cavifrons (Erichson, 1843), Pseudolophoeus guineensis (Candèze, 1881), Rhinopsephus apicalis (Schwarz, 1903), Sephilus formosanus Schwarz, 1912, S. frontalis Candèze, 1878, Singhalenus gibbus Candèze, 1892, S. taprobanicus Candèze, 1859, Sphenomerus antennalis Candèze, 1859, S. brunneus Candèze, 1865, Spilus atractomorphus Candèze, 1859, S. nitidus Candèze, 1859, Stenocrepidius simonii Fleutiaux, 1891 and Trielasmus varians Blanchard, 1846. Chalcolepidius zonatus (Hemirhipini, Agrypninae), Ctenicera silvatica (Prosternini, Prosterninae), and species of the other subtribes of Ampedini (Elaterinae): Ampedus sanguineus (Ampedina), Melanotus spernendus (Melanotina) and Anchastus digittatus and Physorhinus xanthocephalus (Physorhinina) were used as outgroups. The results of the phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that Dicrepidiina, as formerly defined, does not form a monophyletic group. One genus, represented by Ovipalpus pubescens, was removed from the subtribe. The subtribe is characterized by presence of lamella under 2nd and 3rd tarsomeres of all legs. Also, it was revealed that the genera Achrestus, Anoplischius, Dipropus and Propsephus are not monophyletic. Due to the scarcity of information, all the studied species are redescribed and illustrated.

Patterns of distribution of the hermit crab Loxopagurus loxochelis (Moreira, 1901) (Decapoda, Diogenidae) in two coastal areas of southern Brazil

The present study determined the distribution pattern of the hermit crab Loxopagurus loxochelis by a comparison of catch, depth and environmental factors at two separate bays (Caraguatatuba and Ubatuba) of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. The influence of these parameters on the distribution of males, non- ovigerous females and ovigerous females was also evaluated. Crabs were collected monthly, over a period of one year (from July/2002 to June/2003), in seven depths, from 5 to 35 m. Abiotic factors were monitored as follows: superficial and bottom salinity (psu), superficial and bottom temperature (C), organic matter content (%) and sediment composition (%). In total, 366 hermit crabs were sampled in Caraguatatuba and 126 in Ubatuba. The highest frequency of occurrence was verified at 20 m during winter (July) in Caraguatatuba and 25 m during summer (January) in Ubatuba. The highest occurrences were recorded in the regions with bottom salinities ranging from 34 to 36 psu, bottom temperatures from 18 to 24 C and, low percentages of organic matter, gravel and mud; and large proportion of sand in the substrate. There was no significant correlation between the total frequency of organisms and the environmental factors analyzed in both regions. This evidence suggests that other variables as biotic interactions can influence the pattern of distribution of L. loxochelis in the analyzed region, which is considered the limit of the northern distribution of this species.