The first record of Litargus tetraspilotus (Coleoptera, Mycetophagidae) in Brazil, with biological notes and complementary description of the species

Litargus tetraspilotus LeConte, 1856 was collected feeding on Oidium sp. (Fungi, Ascomycota, Erysiphaceae) associated with fruit trees. This is the first time L. tetraspilotus is recorded in Brazil, totaling three species of Mycetophagidae for this country. This study aims to provide a complementary description of this species based on new characters and to present information on its life cycle under laboratory conditions and fluctuation in population in the field. During the period of inventories between July 2004 and August 2006, about every fifteen days, a total of 565 specimens of L. tetraspilotus were collected, with the highest abundance found on citrus plants, with values differing significantly between the two years. The population levels differed between the seasons; spring had the greatest abundance and autumn the least. There was a significant positive correlation of L. tetraspilotus abundance with rainfall and relative humidity. Mycetophagidae, as well as other mycophagous families of Brazilian coleopterans, are barely studied, warranting further future studies of their bioecology and systematics.

Revision of the Neotropical spider genus Berlandiella (Araneae, Philodromidae)

The spider genus Berlandiella Mello-Leitão, 1929 is revised and the three known species, Berlandiella insignis Mello-Leitão, 1929 (Rio de Janeiro), B. magna Mello-Leitão, 1929 (Pernambuco, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul), and B. polyacantha Mello-Leitão, 1929 (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo), are redescribed and illustrated. Lectotypes for Berlandiella insignis, B. magna and B. polyacantha are designated. Descriptions and illustrations of three new species are presented: B. robertae sp. nov. (Brazil and Argentina), B. meridionalis sp. nov. (Brazil) and B. querencia sp. nov. (Brazil). The geographical distribution of the representatives of the genus is presented.

On Munduruku, a new Theraphosid genus from Oriental Amazonia (Araneae, Mygalomorphae)

Munduruku gen. nov. is proposed for the type species Munduruku bicoloratum sp. nov., from Juruti and Santarém, Pará, Brazil. The main diagnostic character of Munduruku gen. nov. is the presence of a subapical, lanceolate keel on the male palpal bulb, which is unique among the basal taxa of Theraphosinae with type III-IV urticating setae. The female spermathecae consist of two spheroid receptacles with funnel-shaped necks, each of which bears a sclerotized area. In both sexes, the abdomen is remarkably patterned, an uncommon feature in adults of New World theraphosids. Both the bulbus lanceolate keel and the abdominal color pattern are hypothesized as synapomorphies of the genus.

The genus Bostryx in central western Argentina: anatomical and distributional description of four of its southernmost species (Gastropoda, Bulimulidae)

ABSTRACT The genus Bostryx Troschel, 1847 is endemic to South America, extending from Ecuador to Chile and Argentina. The southernmost Argentinian species of the genus that inhabit San Luis, San Juan and Mendoza provinces, specially the pre-Andes, Andes and Sierras Pampeanas mountain ranges, were examined. This is the first time the anatomy of Bostryx pastorei (Holmberg, 1912), Bostryx reedi (Parodiz, 1947) and Bostryx strobeli (Parodiz, 1956) has been described.Bostryx cordillerae (Strobel, 1874) is re-described regarding shell and anatomy due to new morphological data. The main differences among the species examined are based on shell characters. The distribution ofBostryx mendozanus (Strobel, 1874) and Bostryx cuyanus (Pfeiffer, 1867), other species found in this region, was also discussed.

A reexamination of the phylogenetic relationships of the sand darters (Teleostei: Percidae) / by Kate A. Shaw, Andrew M. Simons, and E.O. Wiley.

no.12

Phylogenetic relationships and classification of the major lineages of Apoidea (Hymenoptera) : with emphasis on the crabronid wasps / by Gabriel A. R. Melo.

no.14

The Compleat cladist : a primer of phylogenetic procedures / E.O. Wiley [et al.]

no.19 (1991)

Observation on the morphology of Australorbis glabratus

The present morphological study of A. glabratus was based on the observation of shell, radula, renal region and genitalia of 50 specimens having a shell diameter of 18 mm. In this summary we record the data pertaining to the chracteristics that can be used in systematics. The numerals refere to the mean and their standard deviation; no special reference being made, they correspond to length measurements. Shell: 18 mm in diameter, 5.59 ± 0.24 mm in greatest width, 5 to 6 whorls. Right side umbilicated, left one weakly depressed. Last whorl about thrice as tall as the penultimate one at the aperture, the measurements being taken on the right side. Aperture perpendicular or a little oblique. Body, extended: 47.06 ± 3.31 mm. Renal tube: Narrow and elongated, 23.84 ± 1.90 mm, showing a pigmented ridge along its ventral surface. Ovotestis: 12.78 ± 1.50 mm. Mainly trifurcate diverticula attaching in fan-like manner to the collecting canal (this arrangement is seen to best advantage in the cephalic middle of the ovotestis). The collecting canal greatly swells at the cephalic end, narrowing suddenly as it leaves the ovotestis. Ovisperm duct: 13.70 ± 1.68 mm, including the non-unwound seminal vesicle. The latter, situated about 1 mm from the beginning af the ovisperm duct, was 1.14 ± 0.29 mm in greatest diameter, and is beset by numerous short diverticula. Sperm duct: 14.16 ± 1.27 mm, pursuing a sinous course along the oviduct. Prostate: Prostate duct 5.53 ± 0.74 mm, collecting a row of long diverticula, the latter 21.6 ± 3.5 in number. Last diverticulum generally simple or bifurcate, penultimate generally arborescent, bifurcate or simple, antepenultimate nearly always arborescent, the remaining ones arborescent. The arborescent diverticula frequently give off secondary branches. Vas deferens: 17.50 ± 2.05 mm. The ratio vas deferens/vergic sac was 4.7 ± 0.6. Verge: 3.70 ± 0.54 mm long, 0.12 ± 0.03 mm wide. Free end tapering to a point where the sperm canal opens. No penial stylet. Vergic sac: 3.77 ± 0.50 mm long, 0.19 ± 0.01 mm wide. The length ratio vergic sac/preputium was 1 ± 0.02. Preputium: Deeply pigmented, 3.79 ± 0.40 mm long, 0.89 ± 0.12 mm wide in the middle. Muscular diaphragm between it and the vergic sac. Two muscular pilasters along its lateral walls. Oviduct: 10.24 ± 1.29 mm, suddenly swollen at the cephalic end so that it forms a folded pouch capping the beginning of the uterus. Uterus: 10.58 ± 1.18 mm. Vagina: 2.06 ± 0.15 mm long, 0.32 ± 0.05 mm wide, showing a swelling at its caudal portion, just above the opening of the spermathecal duct. Spermatheca: 1.57 ± 0.41 mm long, 0.92 ± 0.23 mm wide. Spermathecal duct 1.15 ± 0.23 mm. Radula: 125 to 163 rows of teeth (mean 141.4 ± 9.8). Radula formula 27-1-27 to 34-1-34 (mean 30.9 ± 1.7).

Contribuição ao conhecimento da sistemática e biologia de buprestídeos minadores do gênero Pachyschelus Solier, 1833: (Coleoptera, Buprestidae)

Buprestid leaf-miners are generally included in the subtribe Trachytes. The genera belonging to this subtribe are commonly very rich in number of species and their systematics envolves huge difficulties. On the other hand the biological knowledge on those insects is very poor. The A. tries to clarify the systematical status of two species of Pachyschelus - P. subundulatus Kerr. and P. fulgidipennis Lucas, and redescribes also P. binderi Obenberger. The hosts of the first two species are recorded, namely: Terminalia catappa (Combretaceae) - host-plant of P. subundulatus and Luhea spp. (Tiliaceae) - host-plant of P. fulgidipennis. The mines, developmental stages and habits of the three species are described and is made a full redescription of the adults, both male and female. The study is based on reared material from mined leaves, as well as insects assembled in several brazilian collections, both private and public ones. The importance of some biological facts as well as some morphological characters are stressed. The knowledge of the host-plants and the shape and other structural features of the mine were found to be helpfull to the identification of the species. Some morphological features of adults also prooved to be of systematical value. Besides the female pygidium and the male genitalia, the tibiae of the third pair of legs show some intersting structural details, reasonably alike in both sexes and quite different in each species.

Mediterranean populations of the lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens group): an unexpected puzzle of Pleistocene survivors and prehistoric introductions.

An earlier study revealed the strong phylogeographical structure of the lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens group) within the northern Palaearctic. Here, we aim to reconstruct the colonization history of Mediterranean islands and to clarify the biogeography and phylogeographical relationships of the poorly documented Middle East region with the northern Palaearctic. We performed analyses on 998-bp-long haplotypes of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of 143 samples collected around the Mediterranean basin, including islands and the Middle East. The analyses suggest that the Cypriot shrew belongs to the rare group of relict insular Pleistocene mammal taxa that have survived to the present day. In contrast, the Cretan, Corsican and Menorcan populations were independently introduced from the Middle East during the Holocene. The phylogeographical structure of this temperate Palaearctic species within the Middle East appears to be complex and rich in diversity, probably reflecting fragmentation of the area by numerous mountain chains. Four deeply divergent clades of the C. suaveolens group occur in the area, meaning that a hypothetical contact zone remains to be located in central western Iran.

Evolutionary switch and genetic convergence on rbcL following the evolution of C4 photosynthesis.

Rubisco is responsible for the fixation of CO2 into organic compounds through photosynthesis and thus has a great agronomic importance. It is well established that this enzyme suffers from a slow catalysis, and its low specificity results into photorespiration, which is considered as an energy waste for the plant. However, natural variations exist, and some Rubisco lineages, such as in C4 plants, exhibit higher catalytic efficiencies coupled to lower specificities. These C4 kinetics could have evolved as an adaptation to the higher CO2 concentration present in C4 photosynthetic cells. In this study, using phylogenetic analyses on a large data set of C3 and C4 monocots, we showed that the rbcL gene, which encodes the large subunit of Rubisco, evolved under positive selection in independent C4 lineages. This confirms that selective pressures on Rubisco have been switched in C4 plants by the high CO2 environment prevailing in their photosynthetic cells. Eight rbcL codons evolving under positive selection in C4 clades were involved in parallel changes among the 23 independent monocot C4 lineages included in this study. These amino acids are potentially responsible for the C4 kinetics, and their identification opens new roads for human-directed Rubisco engineering. The introgression of C4-like high-efficiency Rubisco would strongly enhance C3 crop yields in the future CO2-enriched atmosphere.

Sympatric speciation in palms on an oceanic island.

The origin of species diversity has challenged biologists for over two centuries. Allopatric speciation, the divergence of species resulting from geographical isolation, is well documented. However, sympatric speciation, divergence without geographical isolation, is highly controversial. Claims of sympatric speciation must demonstrate species sympatry, sister relationships, reproductive isolation, and that an earlier allopatric phase is highly unlikely. Here we provide clear support for sympatric speciation in a case study of two species of palm (Arecaceae) on an oceanic island. A large dated phylogenetic tree shows that the two species of Howea, endemic to the remote Lord Howe Island, are sister taxa and diverged from each other well after the island was formed 6.9 million years ago. During fieldwork, we found a substantial disjunction in flowering time that is correlated with soil preference. In addition, a genome scan indicates that few genetic loci are more divergent between the two species than expected under neutrality, a finding consistent with models of sympatric speciation involving disruptive/divergent selection. This case study of sympatric speciation in plants provides an opportunity for refining theoretical models on the origin of species, and new impetus for exploring putative plant and animal examples on oceanic islands.

Molecular estimation of dispersal for ecology and population genetics

The dispersal process, by which individuals or other dispersing agents such as gametes or seeds move from birthplace to a new settlement locality, has important consequences for the dynamics of genes, individuals, and species. Many of the questions addressed by ecology and evolutionary biology require a good understanding of species' dispersal patterns. Much effort has thus been devoted to overcoming the difficulties associated with dispersal measurement. In this context, genetic tools have long been the focus of intensive research, providing a great variety of potential solutions to measuring dispersal. This methodological diversity is reviewed here to help (molecular) ecologists find their way toward dispersal inference and interpretation and to stimulate further developments.