Plesiophysa dolichomastix sp. n. (Gastropoda: Planorbidae)

A new species of planorbid mollusc, Plesiophysa dolichomastix (Greek dolichos = long, mastix = flagellum), collected from Lagoa da Pedra, municipality of Santa Rosa, state of Goiás, Brazil (15°01'S, 47°13'W) is described. It is indistinguishable by the shell characters from the five congeneric species described so far: P. striata (Orbigny, 1841), P. granulata ("Shuttleworth" Sowerby, 1873), P. guadeloupensis ("Fischer" Mazé, 1883), P. ornata (Haas, 1938) and P. hubendicki Richards & Ferguson, 1962. It differs from the anatomically studied species in the following characters: about 50 ovotestis diverticula, against 12 in granulata, 100 in ornata, unstated in hubendicki; and length of flagella - about as long as the penial complex -, against about 1/3 to 1/6 in the other three.

A bird's eye survey of central american planorbid molluscs

In the course of two trips to Central America (June 1967 and JulyAugust 1976) I had the opportunity of collecting topotypic specimens of Planorbis nicaraguanus Morelet, 1849, anatomically defined in this paper, and of P. yzabalensis Crosse & Fischer, 1879, the identity of the latter with Drepanotrema anatinum (Orbigny, 1835) is confirmed. The following planorbid species were also found: Helisoma trivolvis (Say, 1817) in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Belize; H. duryi (Wetherby, 1879) in Costa Rica; Biomphalaria helophila (Orbigny, 1835) in Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and El Salvador; B. kuhniana (Clessin, 1883) in Panama; B. obstructa (Morelet,1849) in Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador; B. straminea (Dunker, 1848) in Costa Rica; B. subprona (Martens, 1899) in Guatemala; D. anatinum (Orbigny,1835) in Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica; D. depressissimum (Moricand,1839) in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama; D. lucidum (Pfeiffer, 1839) in Guatemala, Belize and Nicaragua; D. surinamense (Clessin, 1884) in Costa Rica and Panama; and Gyraulus percarinatus sp. n. in Panama. The occurrence of B. kuhniana and D. surinamense is first recorded in Central America, and Gyraulus percarinatus is the first representative of the genus provenly occurring in the American continent south of the United States. The following synonymy is proposed: Planorbis declivis Tate, 1870 = Biomphalaria helophila (Orbigny, 1835); Planorbis isthmicus Pilsbry, 1920 = Biomphalaria kuhniana (Clessin, 1883); Planorbis cannarum Morelet, 1849 and Segmentina donbilli Tristram, 1861 = Biomphalaria obstructa (Morelet, 1849); and Planorbis yzabalensis Crosse & Fischer, 1879 = Drepanotrema anatinum (Orbigny, 1835), confirming Aguayo (1933).

Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1805 (Gastropoda: Physidae): a study of topotypic specimens

A description is given of Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1805, based on topotypic specimens from the Garonne river basin, and additional samples from the environs of the French cities of Montpellier and Perpignan. It proved indistinguishable, in shell and anatomy, from topotypic Physa cubensis Pfeiffer, 1839, thus leading the authors to admit the synonymy of the two nominal species under the older name, P. acuta.

Plesiophysa guadeloupensis ("Fischer" Mazé, 1883)

A description is presented of the shell and anatomic characters of the planorbid mollusk Plesiophysa guadeloupensis ("Fischer" Mazé, 1883), based on topotypic specimens from a pond in Borricaud (Grande Terre, Guadeloupe). Comparison with previous descriptions of nominal species of Plesiophysa points to its identity with P. ornata (Haas, 1938), of which it is a senior synonym.

Planorbidae, Lymnaeidae and Physidae of Peru (Mollusca: Basommatophora)

In the course of several trips to Peru I had the opportunity of collecting topotypic specimens of Biomphalaria andecola (Orbigny, 1835), B. helophila (Orbigny, 1835), B. pucaraensis (Preston, 1909), Drepanotrema limayanum (Lesson, 1830), D. kermatoides (Orbigny, 1835), and Lymnaea viatrix Orbigny, 1835, besides B. tenagophila (Orbigny, 1835), Helisoma trivolvis (Say, 1817), H. duryi (Wetherby, 1879), Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1801, and seemingly P. peruviana Gray, 1828. B. pucaraensis is considered a junior synonym of B. peregrina (Orbigny, 1835).

Southernmost finding of Lymnaea viatrix orbigny, 1835 (Pulmonata: Lymnaeidae), intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica (Linnaeus, 1758) (Trematoda: Digenea), in urban and rural areas of Patagonia, Argentina

We report the first finding of Lymnaea viatrix south of parallel 41ºS, in rural and urban areas from Argentina. Ninety snails were collected during year 2000, from a concrete pond at a Public Square in El Bolsón Village, Río Negro province, and 811 snails in November 1999, and during 2000 from waterbodies within a farm at Cholila locality, Chubut province. Fasciola hepatica infection was detected in 0.9% snails from the rural area. We discuss the potential risk of L. viatrix to public health in urban areas and its epidemiological importance in rural areas of the Andean Patagonian region.

Planorbidae, Lymnaeidae and Physidae of Ecuador (Mollusca: Basommatophora)

In the course of a trip to Ecuador I had the opportunity of collecting topotypic specimens of the following nominal species of pulmonate molluscs: Biomphalaria cousini Paraense, 1966; Planorbis equatorius Cousin, 1887; P. canonicus Cousin, 1887; Lymnaea cousini Jousseaume, 1887 and P. boetzkesi Miller, 1879. Additional findings were: Helisoma trivolvis (Say, 1817), Biomphalaria peregrina (Orbigny 1835), Drepanotrema anatinum (Orbigny, 1835), D. kermatoides (Orbigny, 1835), D. lucidum (Pfeiffer, 1839), D. surinamense (Clessin, 1884), Lymnaea columella Say, 1817 and Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1805. P. boetzkesi and P. canonicus are considered junior synonyms of Gyraulus hindsianus (Dunker, 1848) and Biomphalaria peregrina (Orbigny, 1835), respectively.

Lymnaea cousini Jousseaume, 1887 (Gastropoda: Lymnaeidae): first record for Venezuela

Lymnaea cousini Jousseaume, 1887 was collected in Mucubaji, Merida State, Venezuela, from a permanent pond located at a very high altitude (3760 m). Identification of the collected specimens was made by comparison with the original description of the shell by Jousseaume and the description of the renal organ and reproductive system of topotypic specimens by Paraense.

Planorbidae, Lymnaeidae and Physidae of Argentina (Mollusca: Basommatophora)

In the course of several trips to Argentina I had the opportunity of collecting specimens of Acrorbis petricola Odhner,1937, Biomphalaria orbignyi Paraense, 1975, B. peregrina (Orbigny, 1835), B. tenagophila (Orbigny, 1835) Lymnaea viatrix Orbigny, 1835, Antillorbis nordestensis (Lucena, 1954), B. intermedia (Paraense & Deslandes, 1962), B. oligoza Paraense, 1974, B. straminea (Dunker, 1848), Drepanotrema anatinum (Orbigny, 1835), D. cimex (Moricand, 1837), D. depressissimum (Moricand, 1837), D. heloicum (Orbigny, 1835), D. kermatoides (Orbigny, 1835), D. lucidum (Pfeiffer, 1839), L. columella Say, 1817, Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1805, and P. marmorata Guilding, 1828.

The Afro-American Biomphalariae

The reports on the occurrence of African planorbids in South America and of South American species in Africa and Asia are reviewed.

Hybridism between Biomphalaria cousini and Biomphalaria amazonica and its susceptibility to Schistosoma mansoni

Molecular techniques can aid in the classification of Biomphalaria species because morphological differentiation between these species is difficult. Previous studies using phylogeny, morphological and molecular taxonomy showed that some populations studied were Biomphalaria cousini instead of Biomphalaria amazonica. Three different molecular profiles were observed that enabled the separation of B. amazonica from B. cousini. The third profile showed an association between the two and suggested the possibility of hybrids between them. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the hybridism between B. cousini and B. amazonica and to verify if the hybrids are susceptible to Schistosoma mansoni. Crosses using the albinism factor as a genetic marker were performed, with pigmented B. cousini and albino B. amazonica snails identified by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. This procedure was conducted using B. cousini and B. amazonica of the type locality accordingly to Paraense, 1966. In addition, susceptibility studies were performed using snails obtained from the crosses (hybrids) and three S. mansoni strains (LE, SJ, AL). The crosses between B. amazonica and B. cousini confirmed the occurrence of hybrids. Moreover, hybrids can be considered potential hosts of S. mansoni because they are susceptible to LE, SJ and AL strains (4.4%, 5.6% and 2.2%, respectively). These results indicate that there is a risk of introducing schistosomiasis mansoni into new areas.

A construção de um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem para educação a distância: uma estratégia educativa em serviço

Este estudo objetivou descrever sobre construção de um Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem (AVA) em rede social para a implementação da Educação a Distância (EAD), desenvolvido em instituição hospitalar pública cardiológica por 23 enfermeiros do Grupo de Educação. A construção e a implementação foram realizadas em serviço, seguindo as etapas de estruturação do Grupo de Educação, Construção e Avaliação do AVA para EAD no olhar de tutores e alunos. Verificou-se que houve aprendizado e evolução do conhecimento tecnológico e valorização da construção e utilização do AVA. As dificuldades relacionaram-se à falta de conhecimento específico, tempo e infraestrutura. Também foram identificadas limitações relacionadas às ferramentas e ao acesso à internet. Para viabilizar o projeto, o enfermeiro desenvolveu competências de conhecimento específico e tecnológico atualizado, criatividade, busca de recursos alternativos para superação de dificuldades estruturais, mobilização coletiva e implementação de processos educativos inovadores em serviço.