A new species of Leiostracus (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Orthalicoidea) from Espírito Santo, Brazil

A remarkable new species of pulmonate land snail was found in the collection of the Senckenberg Forschungninstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) and is described here as Leiostracus faerie sp. nov. It can be easily identified by its small and translucent shell with fine axial light brown bands and its protoconch sculpture. It was collected in the Rio Doce ("Doce River") region in Espírito Santo, Brazil, an area known for a high diversity and endemicity of land snails. This discovery shows how little this fauna is known and reinforces the importance of museum collections in the study of biodiversity and conservation.

On a new genus and species of Hemicytheridae (Ostracoda, Crustacea) from the southern Brazilian coast

This study is based on 62 samples of phytal and bottom sediments collected along rocky beaches (< 3 m water depth) of the central and northern coasts of the state of Santa Catarina (26º10'/27º50'S – 48º26'/48º40'W), southern Brazil. Living and dead ostracodes distributed among 16 families were recovered. In this paper is emphasized one new hemicytherid genus and species that is described and richly illustrated: Auricythere sublitoralis gen. nov. and sp. nov. Some ecological and zoogeographical aspects of this new ostracode are briefly discussed.

A new species of Fernandezina (Araneae, Palpimanidae) from southern Brazil

A new species of Fernandezina Birabén, 1951, F. nica sp. nov. is described from Rio Grande do Sul state, in southern Brazil. Fernandezina pulchra Birabén, 1951, is registered for Brazil and a new geographic record in Brazil is presented for F. pelta Platnick, 1975.

New species of Xestoleberididae (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from Archipelago of São Pedro and São Paulo, Equatorial Atlantic

Two new species of Xestoleberididae: Xestoleberis brasilinsularis sp. nov. and Xestoleberis machadoae sp. nov., both endemic to Archipelago of São Pedro and São Paulo, are described. The record of these shallow marine waters species from Brazilian oceanic islands represents an important contribution to the knowledge of the evolutionary history the species inhabit areas.

New species of Lopesia (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) associated with Eichhornia azurea (Pontederiaceae) from Brazil

A new species of gall midge, Lopesia eichhorniae sp. nov. (Cecidomyiidae, Diptera), associated with rhizomes of Eichhornia azurea (Sw.) Kunth (Pontederiaceae) is described. This is the first record of Lopesia galls in this species of macrophyte, quite common in natural and artificial lakes in Southeast Brazil. Illustrations of the adults (male and female), pupa, larva, and gall of the new species are presented.

New species of Cyclodontina from Bahia, Brazil (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Odontostomidae)

A new species of pulmonate snail was recently collected in a small forest fragment in the city of Bom Jesus da Lapa, Bahia state, Brazil. Bahia is known for a high diversity of land snails and Bom Jesus da Lapa is an interesting locality, since it is close to the interface between two major Brazilian biomes: Cerrado and Caatinga. The new species is described as Cyclodontina tapuia sp. nov. and can be easily identified by its brown shell, conical spire, convex whorls, a sculpture comprised of strong ribs, and an aperture with four barriers: a median parietal tooth, a median palatal tooth, a median basal tooth and a strong columellar lamella. This discovery is also a reminder of how little the Brazilian continental molluscan fauna is known and of the urgency in studying and preserving the rich (though usually overlooked) fauna of the Caatinga.