RCAAP Repository

Larvae of Stilpnonotus postsignatus Fairmaire, 1889 were collected inside a hard log in Peruíbe, São Paulo, Brazil; reared adults were identified. A description of the larva, pre-pupa and pupa are provided with ilustrations.

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The syncranial osteology of Ceratophrys aurita, a largosized and characteristic anuran of southeastern Brazil, is described. The main osteological features and their resultant manifestations, as well as the exostosic dermal ornamentation and the specialized dentition clearly confirm this species as a terrestrial, fossorial and phragmotic type, with active predatory habits.

Thoropa megatympanum, sp. n., is described from the Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brasil. The new species is related to T. miliaris (Spix), from which it is readily distinguished by its smaller size, broader head, larger tympanum, shorter legs, and dorsal pattern mottled. The eggs and the tadpole are also described.

Zelleriella ubatubensis, sp. n. is described. This species was found in the caecal region of the leptodactylid Thoropa miliaris from Ubatuba, SP, Brasil. The cell body has an irregular ellipsoid outline (145.9 µm ± 3.0 x 93.9 µm ± 24). The nucleus (16.7 µm ±0.3) has a fragmented nucleolar mass (more than nine nucleoli). Z. ubatubensis seems to be morphologically similar to Z. caryosoma and Z. foliacea but it differs from them by dimension, chromatin and host. A great number of the observed specimens contained Endamoeba paulista in their cytoplasm.

Antwrens of the genus Myrmotherula (Formicariidae) are common members of mixed flocks in the understory of neotropical forest, but rarely follow army ants more than a few minutes as a flock passes. Antwrens that glean in open foliage (axillaris, longipennis) and ones that forage on dead foliage (fulviventris and relatives) apparently have to canvass large areas too rapidly to stay with slow-moving ants. Antwrens that glean low foliage of vertical seedlings (guttata, hauxwelli, gularis) can stay near ants only in such patches, despite close resemblance to sallying and hence less microhabitat-limited Hylophylax antbirds, some of which follow ants regularly.

Hylophylax naevia of moderately dense forest undergrowth and H. punctulata of open swamp undergrowth tend to sally for arthropods in low foliage rather than sally to the ground among large ant-following antbirds. They and related Hypocnemoides melanopogon of swamp understory edges are also limited by their microhabitat niches in following ants. Myrmoderus ferrugineus and M. loricatus, ground-walking small antbirds seemingly derived from Hylophylax, follow ants infrequently, probably because ants, large ant-following birds, and predators would attack them if they did so.

Phlegopsis erythroptera (Formicariidae) follows army ants regularly for flushed arthropods between the Andes and the Negro/Madeira Rivers. Mainly a bird of terra firme forests, it is interspecifically aggressive. Low numbers at ant swarms are probably due to low productivity of arthropods flushed by ants on weathered terra firme soils, or to high species diversity of subordinate but active ant-following competitors in upper Amazonia. Sexual dimorphism of young and female erythroptera is attributed to low numbers over ants, so that dispersed individuals avoid attacks by bright-plumaged adult males rather than bluff them out at close range. Phlegopsis, Skutchia, Rhegmatorhina, and Gymnopithys are related to and perhaps congeneric with Pithys; all follow ants and seem a group derived from birds related to Hylophylax.

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The data suggest that Polybia (Myrapetra) paulista colonies are established by means of swarm formation having the existence of an initial polygyny and a pleometrose being proved. The reproductive forms are produced once a year (at the start of the year); however, the colonies can last for two or three years. The observations evidenced that the duration of a development period is about 100 days.

This paper reports the preliminary results of two years of herpetogeographic studies in the region called «Grande Porto Alegre» at its northern portion. The physiognomy shows, at North, slopes of the Brazilian Southern Plateau, more or less forested in a general view; these elevations graãuálly decrease to the South until the levei of the sea to Atlantic littoral by the eastern border, and to Rio Grande do Sul savanah, which extends to Uruguay and Argentina. The biota is transitional from the highland prairies and forests of the plateau to lowland prairies of the pampas. Three faunistic Provinces are included: Guarani, Pampean, and Tupi. The most conspicuous dispersion is shown by the taxa proceeding from the plateau to savanah (Dispersion Centre Guarani); the pampean species occur in low percentage (Dispersion Centre Uruguay), and an inappreciable account of Tupi fauna (Dispersion Centre of «Serra do Mar»). The new records are: presence of Chironius pyrrhopogon, Hydrodynastes gigas, Bothrops neuwiedi para-naensis, Micrurus corallinus; intergradation zone of Guarani and Pampean geographic roces; and new taxa of snakes, which will be described brieflly. The systematic composition presents: Chelonia, 4 (3 Chelidae, 1 Testudinidae); Sauria, 10 (1 Gekkonidae, 2 Iguanidae, 1 Anguidae, 3 Teiidae, 3 Amphisbaenidae); Serpentes, 45 (35 Colubridae, 4 Elapidae, 6 Viperidae); Crocodylia (1 Crocodylidae).

The «Gruta das Onças», a cave situated in the Caatinga do Moura district, municipulity of Jacobina, Bahia State, has been a rich source of fossils (Cartelle & Bohórquez, 1982 and Cartelle, 1983). In this same fóssil bed we have found large quantities of skeletal pieces of Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund, 1842), together voith Nothrotherium maquinense Lydekker, 1889, Smilodon populator populator Lund, 1842 and a series of skeletal pieces of the giant armadillo vohich is the object of our present study. In this study we have given special emphasis to the cranium; a comparative study of related species, especially Pampatherium humboldti (Lund), 1839, is made.

The upper valley of the Rio Ribeira, a carbonatic rock region in the south of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, has a great number of caves; the bat community of the area is the subject of the present study. Between October 1978 and October 1980 specimens of five families and 23 species were captured. The species showed an irregular distribution among 32 of 39 caves visited. The community is very diversified, consisting of a specially abundant species (Desmodus rotundus), some very common species (Carollia perspicillata, Artibeus lituratus and Anoura caudifer), and several common and rare species. It differs from other neotropical communities studied in the relatively high frequence of A. caudifer, which probably takes over the ecological role of Glossophaga soricina, and in the great diversity of medium to large sized Phyllostominae. The great diversity and the high relative abundance of some species is probably related to the availability of food afforded by farms and domestic stock Ñ important for the herbivorous and hematophagous species Ñ and to the high number of caves Ñ important mainly for the Phyllostominae and probably for D. rotundus. It is suggested that the structure of a roost's community is primarily determined by the location: the more isolated a cave, the greater and more diversified tends to be its community, regardless of the caveis morphometric characteristies («opportunistic occupation»). Only in densely grouped caves factors such as size would tend to be of some importance. Due to the great number of roosts and the lotv sociability of the bats, the Upper Ribeira populations tend to be distributed all over the available caves, that have small populations (with exception of some relatively isolated ones) varying in density through the year. The occurrence of certain species in individual caves seems to be affected by presence of others in the same roost: A. lituratus, Diphylla ecaudata and Chrotopterus auritus tend to occupy the same caves as D. rotundus, whereas Puripterus horrens and A. caudifer avoid them. Common species showed a «sunset-related» timing of flight activity. The emergence of the majority of the populations begins at dusk, but the activity peak at cave entrance varies in timing and duration. The strictly insectivorous species (Peropterix macrotis, Myotis nigricans and P. horrens and also A. caudifer leave the roost earlier, showing an emergence peak during the crepuscle; for the others, the peak occurs after darkening. A few species, such as D. rotundus and Lonchorhina aurita, emerge only after total darkness. The use of temporary, nocturnal roosts seems to be frequent in the Upper Ribeira, occurring during or after foraging activities; individuals of A. lituratus can use caves as ingesting places. C. perspicillata finishes its feeding activities earlier than the other common species, which indicates a high foraging efficiency. With few exceptions, bats of the Upper Ribeira do not carry their young during foraging. The supply of food for the hematophagous species is represented by small and medium sized domestic animals (poultry and pigs); wild animals may also be significant as prey.

The first record of occurrence of Myriastra purpurea (Ridley, 1884) for the South Atlantic Ocean at shallow areas of the Brazilian coast (State of Rio de Janeiro, Sepetiba Bay: 23º04'53"/44º00'34"W and State of Santa Catarina, Porto Belo: 27º09'12"S/48º29'30"W) widely enlarges the distribution of the species, known only from the Indo-Pacific region. Detailed descriptions and ilustrations of the specimens are offered. A table of micrometric measurements and camera lucida drawings of spicules is also offered.

The type series of Aeshna punctata Martin, 1908 was examined and some inconsistent points in the original description were elucidated. A lectolype was designated, redescribed and illustrated. The two females originally referred to this species actually belong to the Mexican species Aeshna jalapensis Williamson, 1908. Thus, A. punctata should be dropped from the faunistic list of Mexico.

A new species of termite, Orthognathotermes heberi, is described and the soldiers illustrated. It is similar in morphology and the structure of its nests to O. gibberorum from Mato Grosso. The soldiers are strongly dimorphic, 14% being minor soldiers whose heads are only 59% the length of those of the major ones. No such dimorphism has been recorded in any of the seven species already known in the genus.

Three main concepts of "pre-pupa" are recognized here in the Holometabola: i) pre-pupa without a distinct moult but with a short quiescent period followed or not by slight modifications of the last larval instar form of body - this type corresponds to the pharate pupa; ii) pre-pupa with a distinct moult, and a quiescent resting period followed by slight form modifications (mainly in the mandibles and color pattern) with a variable period of diapause (ex. Hymenoptera-Symphyta); iii) pre-pupa with a distinct moult, a quiescent period not related to the diapause phenomenon, and distinct morphological modifications (Coleoptera-Mycteridae).