Tetraploidía en Ceratophrys (Anura, Leptodactylidae), análisis del registro fósil

It has been confirmed the existence of the tetraploid counterpart of the genus Ceratophrys Wied, 1824 (extint at the present time) in Argentina and Brazil since the Pliocene, and the apparition of the octaploidy in the Upper Pleistocene - Holocene. Fossil material of the diploid form, distinctive of the Chacoan District, has been reported from the horizons of the Montehermosense Formation in south-east of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The coexistence of diploid-tetraploid and tetraploid-octaploid forms in the same province was documented.

Nereididae (Polychaeta) da costa nordeste do Brasil: III. Gêneros Ceratonereis e Nereis

Ten species belonging to the genera Ceratonereis Kinberg, 1866 and Nereis Linnaeus, 1758 were recorded in estuaries, exposed sandy beaches, shelly soft bottoms, atolls and coral reefs of the Brazilian northeastern coast. Two new species, Nereis serrata, from Ceará coast, and Nereis pseudomoniliformis, from Sergipe coast, are described.

Biomphalaria AFF. glabrata do pleistoceno de Janaúba, Minas Gerais

Fossil shells collected during excavations at the extinct Janaúba lake in Minas Gerais, were identified on morphological grounds as Biomphalaria aff. glabrata. Since they were found in a stratigraphic horizon associated with bones of Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund), they can be assumed to belong to the Upper Pleistocene. B. glabrata is presently known to occur on a wide area surrounding the microregion of the "Janaúba lake" but not at the place of the "lake" itself and some kilometers around. The present discontinous distribution can be explained by the Pleistocene-Holocene climatic changes which have occurred in the region.

Novo gastrópode fóssil da bacia de São José de Itaboraí, estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Endodontidae)

A new species of a very small land snail (Endodontidae) occurring in São José de Itaboraí limestone basin, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is described in honour of zoologist Hugo de Souza Lopes. Austrodiscus Parodiz, 1957 is registered in the paleontological records, for the first time.

Pleistocene gastropods from Toca da Esperança, municipality of Central, State of Bahia, Brazil

Fossil shells collected during excavations in Toca da Esperança, BA, were identified on morphological grounds as: Artemon intermedius intermedius (Albers, 1857); Gastrocopta (Privatula) corticaria (Say); Bulimulus (Rhinus) heterotrichus (Moricand, 1836) and Polygyratia polygyrata polygyrata (Born, 1780). Bone samples found associated with these shells were dated by the Uranium - Thorium method as being between 204,000 and 295,000 years old (Middle - Upper Pleistocene). Species of the mastofauna also found associated, on the other hand, were identified as being of the Upper Pleistocene or even of the beginning of the Holocene. The material studied here was not dated.

Evidence for a neotropical origin of Leishmania

Contradictory biogeographic hypotheses for either a Neotropical or a Palaearctic origin of the genus Leishmania have been proposed. Hypotheses constructed on the basis of biogeographic data must be tested against an independent dataset and cannot be supported by biogeographic data alone. In the absence of a fossil record for the Leishmania these two hypotheses were tested against a combined dataset of sequences from the DNA polymerase A catalytic subunit and the RNA polymerase II largest subunit. The phylogeny obtained provided considerable support for a Neotropical origin of the genus Leishmania and leads us to reject the hypothesis for a Palaearctic origin.

Further support for a palaearctic origin of Leishmania

The fossil record and systematics of murid rodents, reservoirs of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Palaearctic, Oriental, African, Nearctic and Neotropical, strongly support a Palaearctic origin of Leishmania. The fossil record and systematics of phlebotomine sand flies reinforce this idea. Interpretations of molecular data that place the origin of Leishmania in the Neotropical are inconsistent with the natural histories of reservoirs and vectors. The evolutionary pattern of New World rats (Sigmodontinae) indicates that they may be the most important reservoirs of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis throughout their range.

Toxocara canis (Werner, 1782) eggs in the Pleistocene site of Menez-Dregan, France (300,000-500,000 years before present)

On the archaeological site of Menez-Dregan in Brittany, France, dated 300,000-500,000 years-old, paleoparasitological analysis of cave deposits led to the detection of well-preserved helminth eggs, which morphology and morphometry pointed to the diagnosis of Toxocara canis eggs, a parasite of carnivore mammals. Paleolithic remains suggested a parasitism of the hyena Crocuta spelaea or other canids that inhabited the region.

Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) paleotownsendi, a new sand fly from the Miocene amber of Dominican Republic (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae)

Phlebotominae includes some vector species, mainly that of leishmaniases, with a very old host-parasite relationship. Some species fossils of this subfamily have been recently described and this paper presents the description of a new sand fly Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) paleotownsendi sp. nov in amber. The gonostyle present four spines, being one apical, one external superior implanted close to the apical third, one external inferior in the middle of the structure and one internal implanted in the basal third. This disposition of the spines may separate the new species from others in the sub genus.

Description of Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) paleotrichia, a Miocene period new species from the Dominican Republic (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae)

A new fossil species of phlebotomine sandflies is described from Dominican amber based in one specimen. Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) paleotrichia sp. nov. is distinguished from the other extant and extinct species by aspects of paramere and the basal tuft of bristles in the gonocoxite.

Leptoconops nosopheris sp. n. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) and Paleotrypanosoma burmanicus gen. n., sp. n. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), a biting midge - trypanosome vector association from the Early Cretaceous

Leptoconops nosopheris sp. n. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is described from a blood-filled female biting midge in Early Cretaceous Burmese amber. The new species is characterized by a very elongate terminal flagellomere, elongate cerci, and an indistinct spur on the metatibia. This biting midge contained digenetic trypanosomes (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) in its alimentary tract and salivary glands. These trypanosomes are described as Paleotrypanosoma burmanicus gen. n., sp. n., which represents the first fossil record of a Trypanosoma generic lineage.