NEW DATA ON THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE VALE DO FORNO SEDIMENTARY SEQUENCE (LOWER TAGUS RIVER TERRACE STAIRCASE) AND ITS RELEVANCE AS FLUVIAL ARCHIVE OF THE MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE IN WESTERN IBERIA

NEW DATA ON THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE VALE DO FORNO SEDIMENTARY SEQUENCE (LOWER TAGUS RIVER TERRACE STAIRCASE) AND ITS RELEVANCE AS FLUVIAL ARCHIVE OF THE MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE IN WESTERN IBERIA Pedro P. Cunha 1, António A. Martins 2, Jan-Pieter Buylaert 3,4, Andrew S. Murray 4, Luis Raposo 5, Paolo Mozzi 6, Martin Stokes 7 1 MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal: pcunha@dct.uc.pt 2 MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Dep. Geociências, University of Évora, Portugal; aam@uevora.pt 3 Centre for Nuclear Technologies, Technical University of Denmark, Risø Campus, Denmark; jabu@dtu.dk 4 Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating, Aarhus University, Risø DTU, Denmark; anmu@dtu.dk 5 Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Lisboa, Portugal; 3raposos@sapo.pt 6 Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Italy; paolo.mozzi@unipd.it 7 School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, UK; m.stokes@plymouth.ac.uk The stratigraphic units that record the evolution of the Tagus River in Portugal (study area between Vila Velha de Ródão and Porto Alto villages; Fig. 1) have different sedimentary characteristics and lithic industries (Cunha et al., 2012): - a culminant sedimentary unit (the ancestral Tagus, before the drainage network entrenchment) – SLD13 (+142 to 262 m above river bed – a.r.b.; with probable age ca. 3,6 to 1,8 Ma), without artefacts; - T1 terrace (+84 to 180 m; ca. 1000? to 900 ka), without artefacts; - T2 terrace (+57 to 150 m; top deposits with a probable age ca. 600 ka), without artefacts; - T3 terrace (+43 to 113 m; ca. 460 to 360? ka), without artefacts; - T4 terrace (+26 to 55 m; ca. 335 a 155 ka), Lower Paleolithic (Acheulian) at basal and middle levels but early Middle Paleolithic at top levels; - T5 terrace (+5 to 34 m; 135 to 73 ka), Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian; Levallois technique); - T6 terrace (+3 to 14 m; 62 to 32 ka), late Middle Paleolithic (late Mousterian); - Carregueira Sands (aeolian sands) and colluvium (+3 a ca. 100 m; 32 to 12 ka), Upper Paleolithic to Epipaleolithic; - alluvial plain (+0 to 8 m; ca. 12 ka to present), Mesolithic and more recent industries. The differences in elevation (a.r.b.) of the several terrace staircases results from differential uplift due to active faults. Longitudinal correlation with the terrace levels indicates that a graded profile ca. 200 km long was achieved during terrace formation periods and a strong control by sea base level was determinant for terrace formation. The Neogene sedimentary units constituted the main source of sediments for the fluvial terraces (Fig. 2). Geomorphological mapping, coupled with lithostratigraphy, sedimentology and luminescence dating (quartz-OSL and K-feldspar post-IRIR290) were used in this study focused on the T4 terrace, which comprises a Lower Gravels (LG) unit and an Upper Sand (US) unit. The thick, coarse and dominantly massive gravels of the LG unit indicate deposition by a coarse bed-load braided river, with strong sediment supply, high gradient and fluvial competence, during conditions of rapidly rising sea level. Luminescence dating only provided minimum ages but it is probable that the LG unit corresponds to the earlier part of the MIS9 (ca. 335 to 325 ka), immediately postdating the incision promoted by the very low sea level (reaching ca. -140 m) during MIS10 (362 to 337 ka), a period of relatively cold climate conditions with weak vegetation cover on slopes and low sea level. Fig. 1. Main Portuguese reaches in which the Tagus River can be divided (Lower Tagus Basin): I – from the Spanish border to Arneiro (a general E–W trend, mainly consisting of polygonal segments); II – from Arneiro to Gavião (NE–SW); III – from Gavião to Arripiado (E–W); IV – from Arripiado to Vila Franca de Xira (NNE-SSW); V – from Vila Franca de Xira to the Atlantic shoreline. The faults considered to be the limit of the referred fluvial sectors are: F1 – Ponsul-Arneiro fault (WSW-ENE); F2 – Gavião fault (NW-SE); F3 – Ortiga fault (NW-SE); F4 – Vila Nova da Barquinha fault (W-E); F5 – Arripiado-Chamusca fault (NNE-SSW). 1 – estuary; 2 – terraces; 3 – faults; 4 – Tagus main channel. The main Iberian drainage basins are also represented (inset). The lower and middle parts of the US unit, comprising an alternation of clayish silts with paleosols and minor sands to the east (flood-plain deposits) and sand deposits to the west (channel belt), have a probable age of ca. 325 to 200 ka. This points to formation during MIS9 to MIS7, under conditions of high to medium sea levels and warm to mild conditions. The upper part of the US unit, dominated by sand facies and with OSL ages of ca. 200 to 154 ka, correlates with the early part of the MIS6. During this period, progradation resulted from climate deterioration and relative depletion of vegetation that promoted enhanced sediment production in the catchment, coupled with initiation of sea-level lowering that increased the longitudinal slope. The Vale do Forno and Vale da Atela archaeological sites (Alpiarça, central Portugal) document the earliest human occupation in the Lower Tagus River, well established in geomorphological and environmental terms, within the Middle Pleistocene. The Lower Palaeolithic sites were found on the T4 terrace (+26 m, a.r.b.). The oldest artefacts previously found in the LG unit, display crude bifacial forms that can be attributed to the Acheulian, with a probable age of ca. 335 to 325 ka. The T4 US unit has archaeological sites stratigraphically documenting successive phases of an evolved Acheulian, that probably date ca. 325 to 300 ka. Notably, these Lower Palaeolithic artisans were able to produce tools with different sophistication levels, simply by applying different strategies: more elaborated reduction sequences in case of bifaces and simple reduction sequences to obtain cleavers. Fig. 2. . Simplified geologic map of the Lower Tagus Cenozoic basin, adapted from the Carta Geológica de Portugal, 1/500000, 1992). The study area (comprising the Vale do Forno and Vale de Atela sites) is located on the more upstream sector of the Lower Tagus River reach IV, between Arripiado and Chamusca villages. 1 – alluvium (Holocene); 2 – terraces (Pleistocene); 3 – sands, silts and gravels (Paleogene to Pliocene); 4 – Sintra Massif (Cretaceous); 5 – limestones, marls, silts and sandstones (Mesozoic); 6 – quartzites (Ordovician); 7 – basement (Proterozoic to Palaeozoic); 8 – main fault. The main Portuguese reaches of the Tagus River are identified (I to V). The VF3 site (Milharós), containing a Final Acheulian industry, with fine and elaborated bifaces) found in a stratigraphic level located between the T4 terrace deposits and a colluvium associated with Late Pleistocene aeolian sands (32 to 12 ka), has an age younger than ca. 154 ka but much older than 32 ka. In the study area, the sedimentary units of the T4 terrace seem to record the river response to sea-level changes and climatically-driven fluctuations in sediment supply. REFERENCES Cunha P. P., Almeida N. A. C., Aubry T., Martins A. A., Murray A. S., Buylaert J.-P., Sohbati R., Raposo L., Rocha L., 2012, Records of human occupation from Pleistocene river terrace and aeolian sediments in the Arneiro depression (Lower Tejo River, central eastern Portugal). Geomorphology, vol. 165-166, pp. 78-90.

How did the AD 1755 tsunami impact on sand barriers across the southern coast of Portugal?

Tsunamis are highly energetic events that may destructively impact the coast. Resolving the degree of coastal resilience to tsunamis is extremely difficult and sometimes impossible. In part, our understanding is constrained by the limited number of contemporaneous examples and by the high dynamism of coastal systems. In fact, longterm changes of coastal systems can mask the evidence of past tsunamis, leaving us a short or incomplete sedimentary archive. Here, we present a multidisciplinary approach involving sedimentological, geomorphological and geophysical analyses and numerical modelling of the AD 1755 tsunami flood on a coastal segment located within the southern coast of Portugal. In particular, the work focuses on deciphering the impact of the tsunami waves over a coastal sand barrier enclosing two lowlands largely inundated by the tsunami flood. Erosional features documented by geophysical data were assigned to the AD 1755 eventwith support of sedimentological and age estimation results. Furthermore, these features allowed the calibration of the simulation settings to reconstruct the local conditions and establish the run-up range of the AD 1755 tsunami when it hit this coast (6– 8 m above mean sea level). Our work highlights the usefulness of erosional imprints preserved in the sediment record to interpret the impact of the extreme events on sand barriers

Provenance of Holocene beach sand in the Western Iberian

Detrital zircons from Holocene beach sand and igneous zircons from the Cretaceous syenite forming Cape Sines (Western Iberian margin) were dated using laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry. The U–Pb ages obtained were used for comparison with previous radiometric data from Carboniferous greywacke, Pliocene–Pleistocene sand and Cretaceous syenite forming the sea cliff at Cape Sines and the contiguous coast. New U–Pb dating of igneous morphologically simple and complex zircons from the syenite of the Sines pluton suggests that the history of zircon crystallization was more extensive (ca 87 to 74 Ma), in contrast to the findings of previous geochronology studies (ca 76 to 74 Ma). The U–Pb ages obtained in Holocene sand revealed a wide interval, ranging from the Cretaceous to the Archean, with predominance of Cretaceous (37%), Palaeozoic (35%) and Neoproterozoic (19%) detrital-zircon ages. The paucity of round to subrounded grains seems to indicate a short transportation history for most of the Cretaceous zircons (ca 95 to 73 Ma) which are more abundant in the beach sand that was sampled south of Cape Sines. Comparative analysis using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistical method, analysing sub-populations separately, suggests that the zircon populations of the Carboniferous and Cretaceous rocks forming the sea cliff were reproduced faithfully in Quaternary sand, indicating sediment recycling. The similarity of the pre- Cretaceous ages (>ca 280 Ma) of detrital zircons found in Holocene sand, as compared with Carboniferous greywacke and Pliocene–Pleistocene sand, provides support for the hypothesis that detritus was reworked into the beach from older sedimentary rocks exposed along the sea cliff. The largest percentage of Cretaceous zircons (sand, as com- pared with Pliocene–Pleistocene sand (secondary recycled source), suggests that the Sines pluton was the one of the primary sources that became progressively more exposed to erosion during Quaternary uplift. This work highlights the application of the Kolmogorov–Smirnov method in compar- ison of zircon age populations used to identify provenance and sediment recycling in modern and ancient detrital sedimentary sequences.

Energy balances in sugar cane, coffee and natural vegetation in the northeastern side of the São Paulo state, Brazil

Under land and climate change scenarios, agriculture has experienced water competitions among other sectors in the São Paulo state, Brazil. On the one hand, in several occasions, in the northeastern side of this state, nowadays sugar-cane is expanding, while coffee plantations are losing space. On the other hand, both crops have replaced the natural vegetation composed by Savannah and Atlantic Coastal Forest species. Under this dynamic situation, geosciences are valuable tools for evaluating the large-scale energy and mass exchanges between these diffe rent agro-ecosystems and the lower atmosphere. For quantification of the energy balance components in these mixed agro-ecosystems, the bands 1 and 2 from the MODIS product MOD13Q1 we re used throughout SA FER (Surface Algorithm for Evapotranspiration Retrieving) algorithm, which was applied together with a net of 12 automatic weather stations, during the year 2015 in the main sugar cane and coffee growing regions, located at the no rtheastern side of the state. The fraction of the global solar radiation (R G ) transformed into net radiation (Rn) was 52% for sugar cane and 53% for both, coffee and natural vegetation. The respective annual fractions of Rn used as λ E were 0.68, 0.87 and 0.77, while for the sensible heat (H) fluxes they were 0.27, 0.07 and 0.16. From April to July, heat advection raised λ E values above Rn promoting negative H, however these effects were much and less strong in coffee and sugar cane crop s, respectively. The smallest daily Rn fraction for all agro-ecosystems was for the soil heat flux (G), with averages of 5%, 6% and 7% in sugar cane, coffee and natural vegetation. From the energy balance analyses, we could conclude that, sugar-cane crop presented lower annual water consumption than that for coffee crop , what can be seen as an advantage in situations of water scarcity. However, the replacement of natural vegetation by su gar cane can contribute for warming th e environment, while when this occur with coffee crop there was noticed co oling conditions. The large scale modeling satisfactory results confirm the suitability of using MODIS products togeth er with weather stations to study the energy balance components in mixed agro-ecosystems under land-use and climate change conditions.

Coastal Forests of Kenya-Ecology, Biodiversity & Conservation

Aims: the broad objective of this study is to investigate the ecological, biodiversity and conservation status of the coastal forests of Kenya fragments. The specific aims of the study are: (1) to investigate current quantitative trends in plant diversity; (2) develop a spatial and standardised vegetation database for the coastal forests Kenya; (3) investigate forest structure, species diversity and composition across the forests; (4) investigate the effect of forest fragment area on plant species diversity; (5) investigate phylogenetic diversity across these coastal remnants (6) assess vulnerability and provide conservation perspectives to concrete policy issues; (7) investigate plant and butterfly diversity correlation. Methods: I performed various analytical methods including species diversity metrics; multiple regression models for species-area relationship and small island effect; non-metric multidimensional scaling; ANOSIM; PERMANOVA; multiplicative beta diversity partitioning; species accumulation curve and species indicator analysis; statistical tests, rarefaction of species richness; phylogenetic diversity metrics of Phylogenetic diversity index, mean pairwise distance, mean nearest taxon distance, and their null-models: and Co-correspondence analysis. Results: developed the first large standardised, spatial and geo-referenced vegetation database for coastal forests of Kenya consisting of 600 plant species, across 25 forest fragments using 158 plots subdivided into 3160 subplots, 18 sacred forests and seven forest reserves; species diversity, composition and forest structure was significantly different across forest sites and between forest reserves and sacred forests, higher beta diversity, species-area relationship explained significant variability of plant diversity, small Island effect was not evident; sacred forests exhibited higher phylogenetic diversity compared to forest reserves; the threatened Red List species contributed higher evolutionary history; a strong correlation between plants and butterfly diversity. Conclusions: This study provides for the first time a standardized and large vegetation data. Results emphasizes need to improve sacred forests protection status and enhance forest connectivity across forest reserves and sacred forests.

Visual Navigation In The Neotropical Ant Odontomachus Hastatus (formicidae, Ponerinae), A Predominantly Nocturnal, Canopy-dwelling Predator Of The Atlantic Rainforest.

The arboreal ant Odontomachus hastatus nests among roots of epiphytic bromeliads in the sandy forest at Cardoso Island (Brazil). Crepuscular and nocturnal foragers travel up to 8m to search for arthropod prey in the canopy, where silhouettes of leaves and branches potentially provide directional information. We investigated the relevance of visual cues (canopy, horizon patterns) during navigation in O. hastatus. Laboratory experiments using a captive ant colony and a round foraging arena revealed that an artificial canopy pattern above the ants and horizon visual marks are effective orientation cues for homing O. hastatus. On the other hand, foragers that were only given a tridimensional landmark (cylinder) or chemical marks were unable to home correctly. Navigation by visual cues in O. hastatus is in accordance with other diurnal arboreal ants. Nocturnal luminosity (moon, stars) is apparently sufficient to produce contrasting silhouettes from the canopy and surrounding vegetation, thus providing orientation cues. Contrary to the plain floor of the round arena, chemical cues may be important for marking bifurcated arboreal routes. This experimental demonstration of the use of visual cues by a predominantly nocturnal arboreal ant provides important information for comparative studies on the evolution of spatial orientation behavior in ants. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Neotropical Behaviour.

Metacommunity Versus Biogeography: A Case Study Of Two Groups Of Neotropical Vegetation-dwelling Arthropods.

Biogeography and metacommunity ecology provide two different perspectives on species diversity. Both are spatial in nature but their spatial scales do not necessarily match. With recent boom of metacommunity studies, we see an increasing need for clear discrimination of spatial scales relevant for both perspectives. This discrimination is a necessary prerequisite for improved understanding of ecological phenomena across scales. Here we provide a case study to illustrate some spatial scale-dependent concepts in recent metacommunity studies and identify potential pitfalls. We presented here the diversity patterns of Neotropical lepidopterans and spiders viewed both from metacommunity and biogeographical perspectives. Specifically, we investigated how the relative importance of niche- and dispersal-based processes for community assembly change at two spatial scales: metacommunity scale, i.e. within a locality, and biogeographical scale, i.e. among localities widely scattered along a macroclimatic gradient. As expected, niche-based processes dominated the community assembly at metacommunity scale, while dispersal-based processes played a major role at biogeographical scale for both taxonomical groups. However, we also observed small but significant spatial effects at metacommunity scale and environmental effects at biogeographical scale. We also observed differences in diversity patterns between the two taxonomical groups corresponding to differences in their dispersal modes. Our results thus support the idea of continuity of processes interactively shaping diversity patterns across scales and emphasize the necessity of integration of metacommunity and biogeographical perspectives.

Abundância de ramos reprodutivos e produção de sementes em populações de Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.) R. Br. na Ilha de Santa Catarina, Brasil

The variation in the proportion of reproductive branches, fruit, and seed production of Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.) R. Br. (Convolvulaceae) were evaluated at ten beaches on Santa Catarina Island, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Three patches per beach of Ipomoea pes-caprae were monitored, involving two reproductive cycles. Ipomoea pes-caprae presented initially an average length of patches of 14 m, with 9.6 branches/m² and 39% of reproductive branches. The proportion of reproductive branches varied between the cycles, but there was not noticed an alternation of reproductive effort between the subsequent cycles. There was a reduction in the percentage of reproductive branches at six localities. In four beaches where Ipomoea pes-caprae populations declined, occurred reduction in the reproductive vigor, and in the seed production, being these declines associated to strong sea erosion. In another hand, in one beach with population increase, there were little reproductive branches due to the occurrence of young stolons. Four patches never maturated fruits, being three of these located at small beaches. The fruit and seed productions in the patches showed values up to 40 fruits/m² and up to 140 seeds/m², respectively. Populations with great seed production were localized in areas adjacent to great coastal plains, which may represent potential seed sources for areas with small seed production in the island.

O Complexo Vegetacional da Zona Litorânea no Ceará: Pecém, São Gonçalo do Amarante

Due to its geographical location, the northeastern Coast of Brazil (Litoral Setentrional do Nordeste - LSN) is a hotter and drier climate than the eastern coast. In addition, because of its proximity to caatinga and cerrado, the LSN contains species from these vegetation biomes and from the restinga on the coast, which comprise different plant formations and creates a vegetation complex. Despite the great importance of this ecotone, there are few studies about its flora. The objective of this work was to contribute to what is known about the floristic and phytosociological composition of this region. We made a floristic survey in the area (between 2007 and 2011), consulted herbaria data from the region and made a phytosociological study in a stretch of coastal semideciduous forest (mata de tabuleiro). The study recorded 382 plant species from 96 families. In the phytosociological survey (0.32 ha) we recorded 2,970 individuals and 52 species. The most abundant plants surveyed were the trees Manilkara triflora, Chamaecrista ensiformis and Guapira nitida and the shrubs Cordiera sessilis and Maytenus erythroxyla (average height 3.8 m, average diameter 6.2 cm, basal area 39.28 m²/ha). The local flora includes floristic elements of caatinga, cerrado and restinga, corroborating the idea that the plant community of the coastal region of Ceará has an ecotonal nature.

Isotopic view of vegetation and carbon and nitrogen cycles in a cerrado ecosystem, southeastern Brazil

Carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles in savannas are strongly regulated by the seasonal distribution of precipitation and pulses of nutrients released during the wetting of the dry soil and are critical to the dynamics of microorganisms and vegetation. The objective of this study was to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of C and N isotope ratios as indicators of the cycling of these elements in a cerrado sensu stricto area, within a protected area in a State Park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The foliar δ13C and δ15N values varied from -33.6 to -24.4 ‰ and -2.5 to 4.5 ‰, respectively. The δ13C values showed a consistent relationship with canopy height, revealing the importance of structure of the canopy over the C isotopic signature of the vegetation. Carbon isotopic variations associated with the length of the dry season indicated the importance of recent fixed C to the integrated isotopic signature of the leaf organic C. The studied Cerrado species showed a depleted foliar δ15N, but a wide range of foliar Nitrogen with no difference among canopy heights. However, seasonal variability was observed, with foliar δ15N values being higher in the transition period between dry and rainy seasons. The variation of the foliar C and N isotope ratios presented here was consistent with highly diverse vegetation with high energy available but low availability of water and N.

Influence of soil properties on the abundance of plant species in ferruginous rocky soils vegetation, southeastern Brazil

Ferruginous "campos rupestres" are a particular type of vegetation growing on iron-rich primary soils. We investigated the influence of soil properties on plant species abundance at two sites of ferruginous "campos rupestres" and one site of quartzitic "campo rupestre", all of them in "Quadrilátero Ferrífero", in Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. In each site, 30 quadrats were sampled to assess plant species composition and abundance, and soil samples were taken to perform chemical and physical analyses. The analyzed soils are strongly acidic and presented low fertility and high levels of metallic cations; a principal component analysis of soil data showed a clear segregation among sites due mainly to fertility and heavy metals content, especially Cu, Zn, and Pb. The canonical correspondence analysis indicated a strong correlation between plant species abundance and soil properties, also segregating the sites.

Analysis of mangrove forest succession, using sediment cores: a case study in the Cananéia -Iguape coastal system, São Paulo Brazil

Sediment cores are an essential tool for the analysis of the dynamics of mangrove succession. Coring was used to correlate changes in depositional environments and lateral sedimentary facies with discrete stages of forest succession at the Cananéia-Iguape Coastal System in southeastern Brazil. A local level successional pattern was examined based on four core series T1) a sediment bank; T2) a smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora bank; T3) an active mangrove progradation fringe dominated by Laguncularia racemosa, and; T4) a mature mangrove forest dominated by Avicennia schaueriana. Cores were macroscopically described in terms of color, texture, sedimentary structure and organic components. The base of all cores exhibited a similar pattern suggesting common vertical progressive changes in depositional conditions and subsequent successional colonization pattern throughout the forest. The progradation zone is an exposed bank, colonized by S. alterniflora. L. racemosa, replaces S. alterniflora as progradation takes place. As the substrate consolidates A. schaueriana replaces L. racemosa and attains the greatest structural development in the mature forest. Cores collected within the A. schaueriana dominated stand contained S. alterniflora fragments near the base, confirming that a smooth cordgrass habitat characterized the establishment and early seral stages. Cores provide a reliable approach to describe local-level successional sequences in dynamic settings subject to drivers operating on multiple temporal and spatial scales where spatial heterogeneity can lead to multiple equilibria and where similar successional end-points may be reached through convergent paths.

A new species of sand-dwelling catfish, with a phylogenetic diagnosis of Pygidianops Myers (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae: Glanapteryginae)

A new species of sand-dwelling catfish genus Pygidianops, P. amphioxus, is described from the Negro and lower Amazon basins. The new species differs from its three congeners in the elongate eel-like body, the short barbels, and the small caudal fin, continuous with the body, among other traits of internal anatomy. The absence of anal fin further distinguishes P. amphioxus from all other Pygidianops species except P. magoi and the presence of eyes from all except P. cuao. The new Pygidianops seems to be the sister species to P. magoi, the two species sharing a unique mesethmoid with a dorsally-bent tip lacking cornua, and a produced articular process in the palatine for the articulation with the neurocranium. Pygidianops amphioxus is a permanent and highly-specialized inhabitant of psammic environments. Additional characters are proposed as synapomorphies of Pygidianops, including a hypertrophied symphyseal joint and associated ligament in the lower jaw; an elongate, laterally-directed, process on the dorsal surface of the premaxilla; and a rotated lower jaw, where the surface normally facing laterally in other glanapterygines is instead directed ventrally. These and other characters are incorporated into a revised phylogenetic diagnosis of Pygidianops.

Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) of the "Baixada Santista" region, coastal São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) of the "Baixada Santista" region, coastal São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. A list with 538 species of butterflies recorded in the Baixada Santista, São Paulo ( SE Brazil) is presented. Standard sampling protocols (i.e. with entomological nets) were followed. Baited traps were installed for fruit feeding species. Data from the literature and entomological collections were also considered in the total estimated species richness. The species richness recorded in the Baixada Santista region represents about 16% of the Brazilian butterfly fauna, and 34% of the known butterfly fauna for the state of São Paulo. The present list contains an appreciably higher number of species in comparison to other lists from similar biomes farther south, such as Blumenau in Santa Catarina, and Maquiné in Rio Grande do Sul.

First Record of Culex (Culex) brethesi (Dyar) (Diptera: Culicidae) in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

This is the first record of Culex (Culex) brethesi (Dyar) in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The species was identified from specimens collected in a sand bar vegetation with the aid of a Nasci's trap, during an expedition for surveillance of the West Nile Virus in July of 2006, in the city of Mostardas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.