A phytophagous braconid, Allorhogas conostegia sp nov (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), in the fruits of Conostegia xalapensis (Bonpl.) D. Don (Melastomataceae)

Before 1989 all braconid wasps were thought to be parasitoids, but in that year the first phytophagous species was reported. Subsequently, a few other examples of phytophagy have been discovered, most of which are species of Allorhogas in the subfamily Doryctinae. Until now, all demonstrated examples of phytophagy in this genus have been as gall inducers in the fruits of Fabaceae. Here we describe a new species from Costa Rica, Allorhogas conostegia Marsh and Shaw, and provide evidence that it forms galls in the fruits of Conostegia xalapensis (Melastomataceae). We also provide information on the phenology of the plant and of the galls and the effects of the galls on the host plant, and we discuss the potential species richness of Allorhogas in the Neotropics.

Helminthological records of six-banded Armadillos Euphractus sexcinctus (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Brazilian semi-arid region, Patos county, Paraiba state, including new morphological data on Trichohelix tuberculata (Parona and Stossich, 1901) Ortlepp, 1922 and proposal of Hadrostrongylus ransomi nov comb.

This work aimed to evaluate the gastrointestinal helminthfauna composition of six-banded armadillos from the Brazilian semi-arid region. Gastrointestinal contents of six road-killed adult animals from Patos County, Paraiba State, were analyzed. Six species of nematodes, comprising five genera and four families, were recovered from the analyzed animals. New morphological data on Trichohelix tuberculata is given, along with a new taxonomical proposal for Hadrostrongylus ransomi (Travassos, 1935) n. comb. This is the first record for parasitic helminths in this host from the Brazilian semi-arid.

Discopyge castelloi sp. nov. (Torpediniformes, Narcinidae), una nueva especie de raya eléctrica del Mar Argentino

A new species of electric ray of the family Narcinidae, Discopyge castelloi, is described from the southwestern Atlantic off Argentina. Distinctive characters of the new species are the form of the body, the posterior position of pelvic fins and the manner as pelvic fins join the caudal peduncle, the morphology of the nasal curtain and the presence of small but apparently functional eyes. Discopyge castelloi is the fourth torpediniform species reported from the area. It appears to be very rare on the shelf, though the type locality is separated from that of the paratypes by seven latitude degrees. As in the case of Torpedo puelcha, it is probable that the new species has a normal habitat deeper than that of the available specimens.

História natural da aranha Corinna sp. nov. (Corinnidae): interações com bromélias e comportamento de submersão em fitotelmata

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Phylogeny, ultrastructure and histopathology of Myxobolus lomi sp nov., a parasite of Prochilodus lineatus (Valenciennes, 1836) (Characiformes: Prochilodontidae) from the Peixes River, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Morphological and molecular characterization and phylogenetic relationships of a new species of trypanosome in Tapirus terrestris (lowland tapir), Trypanosoma terrestris sp nov., from Atlantic Rainforest of southeastern Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

On the identity of two species of Proctophyllodidae (Acari: Astigmata: Analgoidea) described by Herbert F. Berla in Brazil, with a description of Lamellodectes gen. nov and a new species

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Wickerhamiella kiyanii f.a., sp nov and Wickerhamiella fructicola f.a., sp nov., two yeasts isolated from native plants of Atlantic rainforest in Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Hanseniaspora nectarophila sp nov., a yeast species isolated from ephemeral flowers

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Clypeina tibanai, sp. nov. (Polyphysacea, Dasycladales, Chlorophyta), mid-Cretaceous green alga from the Potiguar Basin, Brazilian margin of the young South Atlantic Ocean

The fossil genus Clypeina (Michelin, 1845) comprises some 40 species. We describe Clypeina tibanai, a new species from ? upper Albian-Cenomanian strata of the Potiguar Basin, Brazil, characterised by closely set verticils of tubular, bended laterals. It is compared with Clypeina hanabataensis Yabe & Toyama, 1949, a Late Jurassic species, and with Pseudoactinoporella fragilis (Conrad, 1970), an Early Cretaceous taxon. The new species belongs to a short list of green algae found in the young South Atlantic oceanic corridor, an assemblage defining a phycological paleobioprovince discrete from that of the Tethyan realm.

Paracoccidioides lutzii sp nov.: biological and clinical implications

Paracoccidioides lutzii, formerly known as 'Pb01-like' strains in the P. brasiliensis complex, is proposed as a new species based on phylogenetic and comparative genomics data, recombination analysis, and morphological characteristics. Conidia of P. lutzii are elongated, different from those of P. brasiliensis. P. lutzii occurs in the central and northern regions of Brazil. Studies comparing P. brasiliensis and P. lutzii may have significant clinical consequences for the diagnosis and treatment of paracoccidioidomycosis.

Heydrichia (?) poignantii, sp nov (Sporolithaceae, Sporolithales, Rhodophyta), a 100 million year old fossil coralline red alga from north-eastern Brazil, and a new Hauterivian record of Sporolithon from Switzerland

Fossil specimens of Heydrichia (?) poignantii, sp. nov. (Sporolithaceae, Sporolithales, Rhodophyta), representing the first confirmation of the genus in the fossil record, were discovered in thin sections of Albian limestones from the Riachuelo Formation, Sergipe Basin, and in thin sections of Albian -Cenomanian limestones from the Ponta do Mel Formation, Potiguar Basin in north-eastern Brazil. A detailed morphological-anatomical account of the species is provided, and its placement in Heydrichia is discussed in relation to current classification proposals. Comparisons with the four other known species of the genus, all non-fossil, show that H. poignantii is the only known species of Heydrichia in which thalli are encrusting to sparsely warty to horizontally layered with overlapping lamellate branches that commonly appear variously curved or arched, and in which thalli have sporangial complexes that become buried in the thallus. The evolutionary history of Heydrichia remains uncertain, but available data suggest that the genus may have diverged from the sporolithacean genus Sporolithon, known as early as Hauterivian times (c. 129.4-132.9 +/- 1 Ma) from Spain (and newly reported here from Switzerland), or it may have arisen from a graticulacean alga such as Graticula, dating from mid-Silurian times (c. 427-435 Ma). Current data also suggest that Heydrichia is more likely to have arrived in Brazil from Central Atlantic waters than from higher latitude South Atlantic waters. This implies that currently living species in southern Africa probably arose later from ancestors further equatorward in the South Atlantic, although confirming studies are needed. All non-fossil species of Heydrichia are known only from the southern hemisphere.

New light on the systematics of fungi associated with attine ant gardens and the description of escovopsis kreiselii sp nov

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Tmesiphantes mirim sp nov (Araneae: Theraphosidae) from the Atlantic Forest of Bahia, Brazil, biogeographical notes and identification keys for species of the genus

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Escovopsis trichodermoides sp nov., isolated from a nest of the lower attine ant Mycocepurus goeldii

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)