RCAAP Repository

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).

Larval and pupal stages of Neoclytus curvatus (Germar) are described and compared with other immature Clytini. Notes on the biology of the species are added.

Larvae of Callirhipis goryi Castelnau, 1834 and C. scapularis Castelnau, 1834 were collected inside hard logs at the Estação Biológica de Boracéia and in Peruíbe, São Paulo, Brazil; reared adults were identified. Descriptions of the larva and pupa are provided with illustrations.

No summary/description provided

Four new species of Trupanea from Chile are described in this paper: Trupanea foliosi, Trupanea chrysanthemifolii, Trupanea footei and Trupanea thuriferae. Morphological and chromosomal characters of adults and immature stages are used in the descriptions and native host plants of the species are also reported.

Some artificial diets were tested and their efficiency assessed from percentage of pupation and emergence, time to emergence, pupal weight, ovary development and maintenance of generation. The best results were obtained with a yeast and starch basal diet. The other products tested were: wheat germ, soybean, fish flour, blood flour and meat flour.

Eustigmaeus bryonemus, sp. n., is described and figured. It was found in Campinas, SP, feeding on mosses. The karyotype, determined on embryonic tissue of squashed eggs, is 2n = 8 (n = 4).

A new species in the genus Ameroseius, viz. dendrovagans, is described and figured. It was collected in bark beetle (Scolytidae, Coleoptera) galleries in Pinus sp. in Minas Gerais, Brasil.

Results of observations on the feeding habit and biology of Ameroseius dendrovagans Flechtmann & Flechtmann are given.

The majid spider crab Nibilia antilocapra (Stimpson), previously known from the West Atlantic coast, between the Lesser Antilles and North Carolina, is reported as found by fishermen on the Rio Grande do Norte coast, Brazil.

The authors have studied the geographical distribution of 33 freshwater prawn species found in Brazil and surrounding areas, as part of a research project which views the development of a national technology for the freshwater prawn culture. The fauna comprises litoral species found in lowlands along the coast, in areas limited at the south by the 15ºC isotherm for the average air temperature of the coldest month, and continental species, which can be separated in tropical, subtropical and temperature ones, whose occurrence areas were delimited by the 20ºC and 15ºC average air temperature of the coldest month.

Diplosolenodes occidentalis (Guilding, 1825) (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Veronicellidae) is redescribed upon the examination of types in the British Museum (Natural History). New characters of external and internal morphohgy are described. A leclotype, is selected.

No summary/description provided

The physical parameters of vocalizations in Hyla rubicundula are analyzed in the topotypical population and some requirements for this kind of analysis are discussed.

Cercomacra and Schistocichla antbirds (Formicariidae) favor dense foliage and seldom follow army ants for flushed prey, since the ants move through open forest understory as well as through dense zones. Two other lineages, the Drymophila-Hypocnemis lineage (of dense woodland understory) and the Formicivora lineage (of dense bushes in dry or semiopen zones), also cannot follow ants regularly through open forest understory.