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Hyla cochranae Mertens, 1952 is revalidated and the description of the tadpole and vocalization is provided. Based on external morphology, the genus Aplastodiscus A. Lutz, 1950 is recharacterized and a redescription of A. perviridis A. Lutz, 1950 is given. New data on geographical distribution and biology of both species are provided.

Two piscivorous fishes, peacock bass (Cichla monoculus Spix & Agassiz, 1831) (Perciformes) and piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri Kner, 1860) (Characiformes), were introduced in some Rio Doce valley lakes (19º50'S, 42º40'W) for sport fisheries enhancement. As a consequence, small individuals and species were practically vanished in the host lakes. In this study, the effects of peacock bass and piranha introductions on the diet of a native piscivorous fish, the trahira - Hoplias malabaricus (Bloch, 1794) are presented. Trahira's diet from three lakes were was compared with the stomach contentsdiet of trahira's living in another between three lakes with and three withoutstocked with the piscivorous species peacock bass and piranha. In the lakes with introduced fishes species, the consumption of fish was significantly smaller and this food item have been this item partly replaced by aquatic invertebrates. This shift on of trahira's diet to the low abundance of its original prey, is attributed to the small fishes. This diet plasticity adaptative capacity he diet plasticity detected for trahira might be allowing its maintenance in the lakes with peacock bass and piranha.

The following new species are described from Brazil: Falsischnolea apicalis sp. n., Dorcasta singularis sp. n. and Paraesylacris candida sp. n. and from Venezuela: Amphicnaeia piriana sp. n. and A. zonula sp. n. New synonyms established: Acestrilla apicalis Breuning, 1942 and A. strandiella Breuning, 1943 = A. minima Bates, 1885. Bisaltes acutipennis Thomson, 1868 is transferred to the genus Ataxia Haldeman, 1847 (Pteropliini). Falsestola Breuning, 1940 is considered a synonym of Hesycha Fairmaire & Germain, 1859 and transferred to the tribe Onciderini. Hesycha ocellifera Martins & Galileo, 1990 is synonymized with Hesycha inermicollis (Breuning, 1940).

The number of xo alleles of a population of stingless bees can be estimated by observing the male proportion of the first brood comb produced by a new queen (about 40 Fl bees) and the total number of colonies. A proportion of 50% diploid males indicates insemination of the queen by a single male with some xo sex allele: 25% diploid male would indicate insemination by two males (one with some xo as the queen and another with different one). Diploidy was confirmed by cytology of the testis. The original population (78 colonies) of Ribeirão Preto, State S. Paulo, Brazil, had 8 xo sex alleles. From this population, 10 colonies were orphaned and taken to the Serra do Mar (Sea Mountains) at Espirito Santo State (1200 km far) in order that the virgin queen of each colony would cross with males of this region. Ten days after the nine hives (one was lost) were brought back to Ribeirão Preto. No one of them produced diploid males. New samples took from all the Meliponary revealed that the number of xo sex alleles to have increased to 17,3. Than, this methodology can be used to increase the genetic variability of the stingless bees populations.

The Trichoptera fauna in two first-order streams of Serra dos Pireneus. Goiás State, was studied from June/1993 to July/1994. The Trichoptera larvae abundances were lower in the rainy season in the two streams. The temporal distributions of the functional groups (feeding categories) was similar in both streams. The ordination by Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) detected a higher temporal heterogeneity of the Trichoptera community in one of the sampling stations, probably associated with higher discharge variation. There is a large variation of abundance of some genera between the two studied streams.

This paper reports twenty mite species belonging to eighteen genera in nine families, associated with three species of euphorbiaceous weed species: Chamaesyce hirta (Linnaeus) Millsp., Euphorbia heterophylla L. and Phyllanthus tenellus (Muell. Arg.) Roxb., in three different monoculture areas of Hevea brasiliensis. The largest richness of mite species was observed on C. hirta, with nine species. The most abundant species were Pronematus sp. and Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks, 1904), collected on C. hirta and E. heterophylla.

The silverside, Atherinella brasiliensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824), a resident species of the shallows of bays, estuaries and coastal lagoons, was studied during two annual cycles, using beach seines (July 1996 to June 1998), in the continental margin of the Sepetiba Bay, aiming to assess recruitment and distribution patterns. A wide recruitment period, with young-of-the-year appearing from early spring to early autumn, was shown, with peaks of juveniles (Total Length-LT = 10-30 mm) being recorded in two periods of the year; one in November and another in March. The highest abundances, of both juvenile and adults, were recorded in Coroa Grande and Itacuruçá, sites located in the outer Bay, during the whole summer, with significant differences were found. In spite of not having been found any statistically significant relationship between the environmental factors and the occurrence of this species, a trend of higher abundance in colder and more saline waters was detected. High values of growth coefficient (K = 0.93) and low asymptotic lenght (L∞ = 11.6 cm) indicated that this species shows a high growth rate and short life cycle, with life span of 3.09 years, in this system.

Descriptions of the morphology and behavior of the immature stages of Adeloneivaia schubarti Rêgo Barros & Mielke, 1970 are given for the first time. The larvae was reared (in captivity) on Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville (Leguminosae-Mimosoideae). Egg, larval instars, pupa and adults are illustrated in color and line drawings.

The study of Chasmagnathus granulata Dana 1851 was done with the setae morphology point of view. The main objective of this description was to find differents kinds of morphologicals types of setae. During this work anomalous structures were found in megalopal phase, such as: many kinds of rostral and lateral spines, as well as many kinds of spines on the telson and one kind of dorsal spine which never was cited before in the literature concerning to this specie.

Brasacanthus sphoeroides gen. n.. sp. n. is described from the marine fish, Sphoeroides greeleyi (Steindachner), taken in Paranaguá Bay, Paraná State, Brazil. The new genus differs from Acanthocephalus Koelreuter, 1771, the nearest genus in the family Echinorhynchidae, by having very flat and variable lemnisci in both sexes and a uterine egg reservoir in the female. The species is characterized by its spherical body form and in having parallel or diagonal testes.

Psammocyclopina georgei sp. n. is described from submersed sands in the Magellan Strait, South Atlantic Ocean. This is the second species of the genus, previously known only from the Indian Ocean (Mozambique). Psammocyclopina Wells, 1967 is the sistergroup of Metacyclopina Lindberg, 1953. Psammocyclopinidae fam. n. is accordingly proposed to unify these genera into one monophyletic unit. The sistergroup of the new family is a cluster of cyclopinid genera composed of Cyclopinodes Wilson, 1932, Pseudocyclopina Lang, 1946, Parapseudocyclopinodes Lindberg, 1961, Hemicyclopina Herbst, 1952, Procyclopina Herbst, 1955, Heterocydopina Plesa, 1968, Neocyclopina Herbst, 1952, and an as yet undescribed new genus (Martinez Arbizu, in prep.). Global occurrence of psammocyclopinids is briefly reviewed.

The holotype of Stylura brusiliensis Lima, 1928 was found at the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro. Brazil, and the holotype of Iscadia montei Lima, 1936 is probably lost.

A case of dimorphism among the males of the pinnotherid crab, Zaops ostreum (Say, 1817), is reported. The morphological features of the two types of males are also given.

Five new genera and fourteen new species of gall midges from restingas of Rio de Janeiro State are described. The larva, pupa, male, female and gall are described for each species. The new genera are: Arrabidaeamyia, Epihormomyia, Manilkaramyia, Mayteniella and Parazalepidota. The new species are: Arrabidaeamyia serrata, Asphondylia peploniae, Clinodiplosis diodiae, Clinodiplosis profusa, Clusiamyia granulosa, Dasineura couepiae, Epihormomyia miconiae, Lopesia grandis, Lopesia marginalis, Lopesia singularis, Manilkaramyia notabilis, Mayteniella distincta, Parazalepidota clusiae and Paulliniamyia ampla. Also, the larva of a previously described species, Clusiamyia nitida Maia, 1996 is described and Asphondylia byrsonimae Maia & Couri is transferred to Bruggmaniella.

A survey of nicteribiid batflies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae) was done in Paraná State, Brazil. Seven species of Basilia Miranda Ribeiro, 1903 were recorded. Basilia ortizi Machado-Allison, 1963 is a new record for Brazil.. Two species are new records for Paraná State, Basilia carteri Scott, 1936 and Basilia juquiensis Guimarães, 1946. The male of B. juquiensis Guimarães is characterized. Basilia lindolphoi sp. n. is described. Pictorial keys to species are presented, and female abdomens are illustrated.

Immature stages of Culicidae were collected in artificial containers in three conditions, between November 1997 and November 1998, in the rural area of São José dos Pinhais, Paraná, Brazil. Eight species were identified: Culex (Culex) eduardoi Casal & Garcia, 1968, Culex (Culex) acharistus Root, 1927, Culex (Culex) group coronator, Culex (Lutzia) bigoti Bellardi, 1962, Aedes (Protomacleaya) terrens (Walker, 1856), Limatus durhamii Theobald, 1901, Txorhynchites theobaldi (Dyar & Knab, 1906) and Phoniomyia sp. The Berger & Parker index was obtained for each condition and kind of container. These results were compared with those of Silva & Lozovei (1996) in the urban area of Curitiba. A greater number of species was observed in the rural area, with different dominance under each condition. The introduction of artificial containers can not show the number of Culicidae species that are present in an area, but it can indicate the species that show the greatest adaptability to environmental modifications produced by human activity.

A new genus, Timabiara, and a new species, T. bahiensis, are described from Brazil (Bahia). The Cleomenini key for neotropical genera presented by Napp & Mermudes (2001) is herein modified in order to include this new genus.

The present work studied protozoan parasites of cultivated fishes (N = 433) from two feefishing farm situated in Franca, São Paulo, Brazil, during a period of April 1997 through March 1999. Specimens of piauçú Leporinus macrocephalus Garavello & Britski, 1988 (Anostomidae), pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus Holmberg, 1887 (Characidae) carp Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758 (Cyprinidae), Tillapia rendalli Boulenger, 1896 (Cichlidae), nile-tilapia Oreochromis niloticus Linnaeus, 1758 (Cichlidae), matrinxã Brycon cephalus Günther, 1869 (Characidae) and tambacu hybrid (male of P. mesopotamicus x female of Colossoma macropomum Cuvier, 1818) were collected. The fishes were parasitized with protozoans Ichthyophthirius multifiliis Fouquet, 1876 (Protozoa), Trichodina sp. and Piscinoodinium pillulare (Schaperclaus, 1954), Lom, 1981 (Protozoa). In the cold season (autumn and/or winter) all species of fish were infected with I. multifiliis. Higher susceptibility to Trichodina sp. was observed in L. macrocephalus, C. carpio and P. mesopotamicus compared to tambacu, B. cephalus, T. rendalli and 0. niloticus. It was not observed significant difference (P > 0.05) in the seasonal variation of Trichodina sp. and P. pillulare infection of all species. A great number of P. pillulare without significant difference (P > 0.05) was reported to L. macrocephalus, P. mesopotamicus and tambacu.

Metazoan fauna from cultivated fishes (N = 433) in two feefishing farm of Franca, State of São Paulo, Brazil, was studied during a period of April 1997 through March 1999. Specimens of piauçú Leporinus macrocephalus Garavello & Britski, 1988 (Anostomidae), pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus Holmberg, 1887 (Characidae), carp Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758 (Cyprinidae), Tillapia rendalli Boulenger, 1896 (Cichlidae), nile-tilapia Oreochromis niloticus Linnaeus, 1758 (Cichlidae), matrinxã Brycon cephalus Günther, 1869 (Characidae) and tambacu hybrid (male of P. mesopotamicus x female of Colossoma macropomum Cuvier, 1818) were collected. A total of 29.3% was parasitized by monogenean, 9.7% with crustacean (copepodits and adults of Lernaea cyprinacea Linnaeus, 1758 and Argulus sp.) and 1.6% with myxosporean (Henneguya piaractus Martins & Souza, 1997 and Myxobolus colossomatis Moinar & Békési, 1993).The most susceptible species to myxosporean infestation was P. mesopotamicus. L. macrocephalus and P. mesopotamicus that showed a higher susceptibility to Argulus sp infestation. It was not observed significant difference (P > 0.05) in the seasonal variation of L. cyprinacea infection of all species. L. macrocephalus, P. mesopotamicus and tambacu showed a great number of P. pillulare with no significant difference (P > 0.05) between them. Monogenean infections were observed in all examined species, without significant difference (P > 0.05) in the seasonal variation. Nevertheless, occurrence of monogenean was higher in P. mesopotamicus and lower in Nile-tilapia. By the other hand, parasites number collected from P. mesopotamicus was lower in the winter. Copepodits of L. cyprinacea were found in the gills of P. mesopotamicus, tambacu and L. macrocephalus. However, adults of L. cyprinacea were observed only in the P. mesopotamicus and tambacu.

Temperature as an environmental factor has been a frequent subject of study, since it affects either directly or indirectly all living organisms. The determination of thermal limits (critical thermal minima - CTmin and maxima - CTmax) for the tropical ornamental freshwater teleost Xiphophorus maculatus Günther, 1866 (platyfish) was performed after their acclimation to the following temperatures: 15, 20, 25, and 30ºC, for seven days. After this period, the water temperature was elevated or reduced at a rate of 0.125ºC/min until CTmax and CTmin could be determined as the temperature at which 50% of the animals had lost equilibrium. Mean values for CTmax and CTmin for the acclimation temperatures of 15, 20, 25, and 30ºC were respectively: 39.8,39.8,40.4,41.5ºC (CTmax), and 9.6, 12.8, 13.1, 16.0ºC (CTmin). CTmax and CTmin for X. maculatus were thus affected by acclimation temperature. This tropical species is more heat- than cold- tolerant and would not resist the typical low winter temperatures of southern Brazil. Platyfish can adapt to natural environments in regions of mean annual temperatures around 20-25ºC or be kept in aquaria with other ornamental species that accordingly prefer this temperature range.