O médico George Thomson e os primeiros desenvolvimentos do conceito de gás

The word gas was coined by the "chemical philosopher" Joan Baptista Van Helmont (1579 -- 1644) to name a very broad concept in his chemico-medical system. Eventually, some physicians who followed Helmontian ideas adopted the concept. The present paper aims to analyze the reception of the original idea of gas by an English Helmontian physician, George Thomson (1619 -- 1677). Thomson wrote that the "material cause" of the plague was a gas, and compared it to the "Gas of sulphur". He also related the human archeus to a gas, and explained some observations in the laboratory in terms of production of gases. We observe, however, that Thomson was not as interested as Van Helmont in discussing details about the structure of the matter. Thus, gas did not have the same relevance in Thomson's work as it had in Van Helmont's.

Cephalopoda as prey of juvenile Southern elephant seals at Isla 25 de Mayo/King George, South Shetland Islands

The aim of the present study was to enhance the knowledge of the feeding habits of the juvenile component of the population of Southern elephant seals [Mirounga leonina (Linnaeus, 1758)] from Isla 25 de Mayo, South Shetland Islands, age class whose diet information is scarce. A total of 60 individuals were stomach lavaged in the spring - summer seasons of three consecutive years (2003, 2004 and 2005) of which 53.3 % (n = 32) presented food remnants. The Antarctic glacial squid Psychroteuthis glacialis Thiele, 1921 was the dominant prey taxon in terms of frequency of occurrence (68.7%), numerical abundance (60.1%) and biomass (51.5%), contributing 84.1% to the total relative importance index. Other squid prey species of importance were Slosarczykovia circumantartica Lipinski, 2001 in terms of occurrence (37.5%) and numerical abundance (14%) and Moroteuthis knipovitchi Filippova, 1972 in terms of biomass (16%). All identified cephalopod prey taxa are distributed south of the Antarctic Polar Front, except for the squid Martialia hyadesi Rochebrune & Mabille, 1889 which has a circumpolar distribution associated to the Polar Frontal Zone. No significant differences in the sizes of P. glacialis preyed upon by elephant seals were found between sexes and years. However, significant interannual differences were found in the taxonomical composition of their diet. This would be associated with temporal changes in food availability at the foraging areas of seals, which in turn may have been influenced by changes in oceanographic conditions as a result of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon that occurred during part of the study period. Furthermore, a differential response of males and females to this temporal variation was observed, with the former being also associated to a predation on octopods. This would suggest a sexual segregation in foraging habits of this species from the early stages of its life cycle.

Sinopse do gênero Strongylaspis Thomson, 1860 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae, Macrotomini)

Synopsis of the genus Strongylaspis Thomson, 1860 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae, Macrotomini). The genus Strongylaspis Thomson, 1860 with its twelve known species are briefly treated herein: S. batesi Lameere, 1903, S. bullatus Bates, 1872, S. championi Bates, 1884, S. corticarius (Erichson, 1848), S. dohrni Lameere, 1903, S. fryi Lameere, 1912, S. graniger Bates, 1884, S. hirticollis Tippmann, 1953, S. kraepelini Lameere, 1903, S. macrotomoides Tippmann, 1953, S. sericans Tippmann, 1953, S. sericeus Zajciw, 1970. The genus as well as the species, Strongylaspis championi, S. bullatus and S. corticarius are redescribed; the last one including characterization of wings and male and female terminalia. Four new species are added: S. aureus sp. nov. (BRASIL, Amazonas), S. migueli sp. nov. (BRASIL, Mato Grosso), S. christianae sp. nov. (BRASIL, Mato Grosso) and S. bolivianus sp. nov. (BOLIVIA). All the species, but S. dohrni, are illustrated and keyed. Maps of distribution are also given.

Notas e descrições em Bisaltes Thomson, 1868 e Ptericoptus Lepeletier & Audinet-Serville, 1830 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae, Apomecynini)

The following new species are described in the subgenus Bisaltes (Bisaltes): B. (B.) picticornis sp. nov. from Bolivia; B.(B.) taua sp. nov. from Brazil (Paraná and Santa Catarina) and B. (B.) unicolor sp. nov. from Ecuador. Bisaltes (B.) pictus Breuning, 1940 is transferred to the subgenus Craspedocerus. In Ptericoptus, P. hybridus hybridus Breuning, 1939 is considered a synonym of P. acuminatus (Fabricius, 1801); P. dorsalis Audinet-Serville, 1835 previously in the synonymy of P. acuminatus is revalidated and Saperda vitta Newman, 1838 is considered its synonym; P. corumbaensis sp. nov. is described from Brazil (Mato Grosso do Sul).

O gênero Beloesthes Thomson e nota sinonímica em Alcathousites Gilmour (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae, Acanthocinini)

O gênero Beloesthes Thomson, 1864 e B. megabasoides Thomson, 1864 são redescritos e figurados. Alcathousites asperipennis (Fairmaire & Germain, 1859) comb. nov. (antes em Leiopus) = Alcathousites chaclacayoi Gilmour, 1962 syn. nov.

Descrição de Hephialtes mourei sp. nov. e notas em Hephialtes Thomson e Braderochus mundus (White) (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae)

Hephialtes mourei sp. nov. é descrita do Brasil (Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo e Paraná). A chave para espécies de Braderochus e a ilustração do holótipo de B. mundus (White, 1853) fornecidas por Bleuzen (1994) são discutidas.

Comparative morphological study of the Neotropical Cleomenini genera and their transference to the tribes Rhopalophorini Blanchard and Rhinotragini Thomson (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae)

In order to investigate the affinities of the hitherto considered Neotropical Cleomenini genera, a detailed morphological comparative study was carried out based on representatives of their type species and other congeneric species. The results, when compared with representatives of Cleomenes Thomson and other non Neotropical Cleomenini genera together with representatives of Rhopalophorini Blanchard and Rhinotragini Thomson, show that: 1) Listroptera Audinet-Serville, 1834, Dihammaphora Chevrolat, 1859, Haenkea Tippmann, 1953, Aguassay Napp & Mermudes, 2001 and Timabiara Napp & Mermudes, 2001 form a very homogeneous group, not related to other Cleomenini, but sharing several synapomorphies with the Rhopalophorini; therefore they are herein transferred to this tribe; 2) the affinities of Dihammaphoroides Zajciw, 1967, were not clearly defined, needing further investigations; nevertheless, the genus is tentatively included in Rhopalophorini due to its morphological similarity with Dihammaphora and allied genera; 3) Pandrosos Bates, 1867 is brought back to Rhinotragini, in which it was originally placed. Therefore, the tribe Cleomenini Lacordaire is no longer represented in the New World.

Desenvolvimento pós-embrionário de Pattonella intermutans (Thomson) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) em diferentes dietas

A proposta deste estudo foi de avaliar o desenvolvimento pós-embrionário de Pattonella intermutans (Thomson, 1869) em dietas artificiais preparadas com agar-agar. Dieta D1: leite em pó integral + fermento biológico; Dieta D2: leite em pó integral + fermento biológico + caseína; Dieta D3: leite em pó integral + ovo cru; Dieta D4: carne bovina moída (dieta controle). A carne bovina moída foi a dieta mais eficiente (peso larval de 195,63 mg e viabilidade de neolarva a adulto de 86,5%), quando comparada com as dietas artificiais. Os seguintes resultados foram obtidos para o grupo experimental: Dieta D3: 180,15 mg e 63,5%; Dieta D2: 141,07 mg e 61% e na Dieta D1: 147,98 mg e 51,5%.

Novas espécies de Mecometopus Thomson (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae)

Três novas espécies de Mecometopus são descritas: M. catarina sp. nov. (Brasil: Santa Catarina), M. rondonianus. sp. nov. (Brasil: Mato Grosso, Rondônia, e Equador: Napo), e M. capixaba sp. nov. (Brasil: Bahia, Espírito Santo).

New and newly illustrated Gnomidolon Thomson (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Hexoplonini) from Bolivia

Three new species of Gnomidolon Thomson, 1864 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Hexoplonini) from Bolivia are described and illustrated, and G. proseni Martins, 1962 is redefined. Photographs of G. proseni and four other Bolivian species of this genus are provided: G. bonsae Martins, 1967, G. nanum Martins, 1962, G. musivum (Erichson, 1847), and both pale and dark forms of G. wappesi Martins, 2006.

Disteniinae Thomson (Insecta, Coleoptera): a protected name

The name "Cométites" Blanchard, 1845 (= Cometinae) is considered nomen oblitum, and "Distenitae" Thomson, 1861 (=Disteniinae), nomen protectum, under the provisions of the Article 23.9 of the ICZN. Disteniinae is hereafter used as a valid family-group name.

Novas espécies de Esthlogena s. str. Thomson (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae)

Novas espécies de Esthlogena s. str. Thomson (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae). Novas espécies de Pteropliini descritas: Esthlogena (E.) nigrosuturalis do México e Panamá; E. (E.) chicacaoensis e E. (E.) amaliae da Guatemala; E. (E.) dissimilis do Peru. Todas as espécies são ilustradas.

Colonization by mites of glacier-free areas in King George Island, Antarctica

This work aimed to investigate the ratio of colonization by terrestrial mites on ice-free areas created by the ongoing climate-induced melting of Antarctic glaciers. Glacier retreat opens new ice-free areas for the colonization by vegetation and animals. The study was undertaken on the Antarctic Specially Protected Area no. 128 (West Coast of the Admiralty Bay, King George Island, South Shetlands Islands). Transects marked between the Ecology, Baranowski and Windy Glaciers, and a sea shore were used to collect soil samples. Oribatid mites were found only on near-shore areas, on patches of vegetation of more than 30 years of age. The colonization by mite communities is strongly determined by the presence of plants.