RCAAP Repository

The present paper deals with the changes on ultrastructural features of the follicular cells along the growth of the oocyte of Pseudotylosurus microps (Gunther, 1868). The epithelium pass from single squamous to pseudostratified and finally cylindric. Remarkable are the changes in the nuclear shapes, the increasing amount of rough endoplasmic reticulum and the formation of large lipid deposits in the follicular cells by the end of vitellogenic phase. Very peculiar intercellular deposits forms between the perinucleolar and vitellogenic phase of oocyte maturation. Although largely referred to in the specialized literature, our attempts to correlate the follicular cells changes with the formation of the oocyte envelopes or even with an endocrine function are not supported by conclusive evidences in the present paper.

Cytogenetic studies on Cycloramphus boraceiensis Heyer, 1983 collected in Picinguaba, Ubatuba, State of São Paulo are presented. The species has 2n=26 karyotype formed by metacentrics, submetacentrics, and one telocentric pair which carries Ag-NORs. The C-banding patterns is also described.

Atherinella blackburni (Schultz, 1949) (Atherinopsidae), is known in the Atlantic Ocean in Costa Rica, south of Caribe and from Venezuela to central Brazil. The distribution and the intraespecific variation of characters of A. blackburni are poorly known. This study records A. blackburni in Bahia littoral and presents more informations about its intraespecific variation.

The domestic dove Columba livia (Gmelin, 1789) is a species well adapted to Brazil and the study of its reproductive biology is part of a broad research project on birds. This essay describes the morphological aspects of the cloaca of female Columba livia, describing compartments lengthwise starting from the head such as the coprodeo, urodeo and proctodeo limited by mucosal folds. Each compartment of the cloaca presents its own morphological characteristics which differ one from the other in form, height and position of mucosal projections, kinds of tissues, presence and histological aspects of glands, presence of lymphonodus. The rectum opens into the coprodeo, the ureter opens into the oviduct and the cloacal sac opening into the proctodeo. Histochemical studies have shown the presence of glycoproteins in tissue cells and gland cells on the three segments of the cloaca.

The length-weight relationship of populations of white croaker Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest, 1823) in the Sepetiba Bay (22º54'-23º04'S; 43º34'-44º10'W), were assessed. It aims to contribute to the knowledge of the biometrics and to estimate the biomass of this very abundant fishery resource in the Bay. Fishes sampled, in both trawling beach seine, sampling programme, from October 1998 to May 1999 were analyzed. The equation found was W = 0.00000942 L2.99 fom the natural logaritmized transformation of the raw data, through ordinary least square equation = In W = -11.57 + 2.996 In L (r=0.99). The condition factor was relatively high compared with coastal population from Southeast Brazil, probably due to in this study both males and females from juvenile and adult were considered, while in coastal areas, only adult female were analyzed. The alometry coefficient (θ), on the other hand, is very similar to the coastal Southeast Brazil population, but differed from Northeast and South Brazil populations.

A preliminary survey of bats species from the Ubajara National Park is presented. One hundred sixty two bats from 14 species were collected. Comments about reproduction of the captured species are included.

Enigmogramma antillea sp. n., from Puerto Rico and Cuba, is the second endemic Plusiinae recorded for the Antilles.

Xanthodirphia abbreviata sp. n., is described from material collected in high elevations in the mountains of Costa Rica.

Three genera and four species of Neotropical Bombycoidea described by Francis Walker, formerly unrecognized, are here identified. Six genera and five species are synonymized, one genus is revalidated, and one reinstated, and five new combinations are established.

Nyceryx brevis sp. n., is described from Central Brazil.

Three new species of Saturniidae from Central Brazil are described: Cicia norape Becker (Ceratocampinae), Dysdaemonia concisa Becker, and Rhescyntis reducta Camargo & Becker (Arsenurinae).

The Caribbean skate Dipturus teevani (Bigelow & Schroeder, 1951) is recorded for the first time from Brazilian waters. The specimen was collected in the continental slope off Bahia State. With this record, four species of Dipturus Rafinesque, 1810 are known from Brazil: D. chilensis (Guichenot, 1848), D. leptocauda (Kreft & Stehmann, 1975), D. trachyderma (Krefft & Stehmann, 1975) and D. teevani (Bigelow & Schroeder, 1951). They are typical inhabitants of deep waters between the outer shelf edge (195-200m) and the slope (more than 500m). Although morphologically conservative, the species of Dipturus can be distinguished from each other by the number of dorsal and nuchal thorns, the number of caudal thorns, dorsal and ventral spinulation and specific total length. An identification key for the species of Dipturus recorded from Brazil is presented.

Mixed shores of rocks and sand are appropriate systems for the study of limitations that the isolation of rocks may impose for gastropods that typically inhabit rocky shores. We marked 52 Stramonita haemastoma (Linnaeus, 1767) snails on a mixed shore and found that 34 of them moved between rocks one to four times during 15 surveys in a period of 72 days. In the experiments, the snails moved on rock by continuous, direct, ditaxic, alternate undulations of the foot sole but on submerged sand they used slower arrhythmic discontinuous contractions of the foot sole. They switched between modes of locomotion in response to the type and topography of the substrate and possibly to water dynamics. In nature, snails moved between rocks forming aggregations where they oviposited. This may have masked other causes of movement, such as availability of prey. Most snails burrowed into the sand when the rocks became exposed during low tides. Further experiments are needed to explicitly address the possible causes of movements among rocks and burial.

The purpose of the present study is to examine the population structure and the breeding period of Pachycheles monilifer (Dana, 1852) inhabiting sabellariid worm reefs in the littoral of São Paulo State coast. The specimens were obtained at 2-month intervals from September/94 to July/95. The study sites were located at the rocky shores of Tenorio and Paranapuã Beaches. Individuals sampled showed a total averaged 4.4 ± 1.4 mm carapace length. Ovigerous females were more frequent in September. Despite clear differences regarding the arrangement of these sabellariid colonies, they are extremely important to the establishment and maintenance of P. monilifer.

The beetles are a useful group for studies on trophic structure of communities, mainly in forested areas. These kind of studies are based on food habits of species groups. The different terms applied to nomminated these groups (trophic category, ecologic group, trophic group, guild, trophic guild) are discussed. The term trophic group, a natural unity, is proposed to form a group of species with the same food habits, not considering the trophic level. The guild, an artificial unity, is recognized as an important tool to group organisms group that use the same resources as defined by the investigator (Hawkins & MacMaiion, 1989; Simberloff & Dayan 1991; Wilson 1999). The known alimentary habits of Coleoptera are classified in five trophic groups - herbivores, algivores, fungívores, detrivores and carnivores. Within each trophic group, subgroups are recognized. The subgroup are in a lower hierarchic level and are defined by morphological (herbivores), taxonomic (fungivores) atributes of the food, by the food origin (detrivores) and by the way that the food is obtained (carnivores). A food resource diagram showing connections among the trophic groups, based on consumer-consumed (predator-prey) relations, is presented.

This is the first of a series of contributions concerning exoskeletal morphology of neotropical lycaenid butterflies (blues and hairstreaks). The cephalic capsule morphology of Hemiargus hanno (Stoll, 1790) is herein presented with drawings and SEM photographs.

Cyphonia cabetteae sp. n. and C. xavantina sp. n., both from Nova Xavantina, Mato Grosso, are described and illustrated. These two new species are very close to Cyphonia intermedia Sakakibara, 1968 and to Cyphona clavata (Fabricius, 1787), concerning their overall aspects.

The genus Eupempelus Bates, 1870 is revised and its taxonomic position altered in transferring from Cleomenini Lacordaire, 1869 to Heteropsini Lacordaire, 1869. The genus and the type species, Eupempelus olivaceus Bates, 1870, are redescribed and two new species added: Eupempelus illuminus sp. n., from Bolivia and E. spinithorax sp. n., from Ecuador. All the species are illustrated and keyed.

A survey performed in the Guaratuba Bay supports the hypothesis that the G. melanopterus individuals migrate to reproduce at the sea during summer. In autumn and winter, the adults return to the Bay, a pattern not yet described in the literature for this species. G. melanopterus explores the most internal areas of the Bay when the continental influence is lower. Differences in feeding habits were registered between individuals occupying the investigated area and those from a nearby mangrove previously studied.

Anthidianum andicola sp. n. (from Argentina, Tilcara), is described; a description of the male of Chrisanthidium nigritum Urban, 1997 is presented and Anthidianum bizonatum (Friese, 1925) is considered as junior synonym of Anthidianum subpetiolatum (Schrottky, 1910).