Notes on the geographic distribution and subspecific taxonomy of Sais rosalia (Cramer) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Ithomiini), including the first records in Paraguay

Notes on the geographic distribution and subspecific taxonomy of Sais rosalia (Cramer) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Ithomiini), including the first records in Paraguay. This paper provides comments on the subspecific taxonomy and geographic distribution of Sais rosalia (Cramer, 1779) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Ithomiini), as well as an up-to-date distributional map, complemented with unpublished distributional data based on specimens deposited in the Coleção Entomológica Pe. Jesus S. Moure, Curitiba, Brazil and the Museo de Historia Natural, Lima, Peru. The following synonyms are proposed: Sais rosalia camariensis Haensch, 1905 syn. rev. as junior subjective synonym of Papilio rosalia Cramer, 1779 and Sais rosalia brasiliensis Talbot, 1928 syn. rev. as junior subjective synonym of Sais rosalia rosalinde Weymer, 1890. Additionally, the first country records of Sais rosalia in Paraguay, including the southernmost record of the species, are documented.

BEYOND THE “LEAST LIMITING WATER RANGE”: RETHINKING SOIL PHYSICS RESEARCH IN BRAZIL

As opposed to objective definitions in soil physics, the subjective term “soil physical quality” is increasingly found in publications in the soil physics area. A supposed indicator of soil physical quality that has been the focus of attention, especially in the Brazilian literature, is the Least Limiting Water Range (RLL), translated in Portuguese as "Intervalo Hídrico Ótimo" or IHO. In this paper the four limiting water contents that define RLLare discussed in the light of objectively determinable soil physical properties, pointing to inconsistencies in the RLLdefinition and calculation. It also discusses the interpretation of RLL as an indicator of crop productivity or soil physical quality, showing its inability to consider common phenological and pedological boundary conditions. It is shown that so-called “critical densities” found by the RLL through a commonly applied calculation method are questionable. Considering the availability of robust models for agronomy, ecology, hydrology, meteorology and other related areas, the attractiveness of RLL as an indicator to Brazilian soil physicists is not related to its (never proven) effectiveness, but rather to the simplicity with which it is dealt. Determining the respective limiting contents in a simplified manner, relegating the study or concern on the actual functioning of the system to a lower priority, goes against scientific construction and systemic understanding. This study suggests a realignment of the research in soil physics in Brazil with scientific precepts, towards mechanistic soil physics, to replace the currently predominant search for empirical correlations below the state of the art of soil physics.