156 reads in the past 30 days
Habitat use and co-occurrence of two species of tody-tyrant, Hemitriccus (Aves: Rhynchocyclidae) in a fragment of montane forest in north-eastern BrazilJanuary 2025
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157 Reads
Published by Taylor & Francis
Online ISSN: 1464-5262
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Print ISSN: 0022-2933
156 reads in the past 30 days
Habitat use and co-occurrence of two species of tody-tyrant, Hemitriccus (Aves: Rhynchocyclidae) in a fragment of montane forest in north-eastern BrazilJanuary 2025
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157 Reads
115 reads in the past 30 days
Shells, teeth and DNA: land snails from an urban forest in Rio de Janeiro, SE BrazilJanuary 2025
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115 Reads
87 reads in the past 30 days
Two new species of monitor lizards (Squamata: Varanus) endemic to the Louisiade and Tanimbar archipelagosJune 2023
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4,056 Reads
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1 Citation
74 reads in the past 30 days
Digging in the sand: new species and records of mesopsammic and other sea slugs in the Western Mediterranean (Mollusca: Gastropoda)February 2025
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154 Reads
64 reads in the past 30 days
A new, apterous species of Megaphragma Timberlake (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Trichogrammatidae)January 2025
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64 Reads
Research in evolutionary biology and ecology of all animals; taxonomic descriptions, cladistic analyses, and molecular phylogenetics.
For a full list of the subject areas this journal covers, please visit the journal website.
March 2025
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36 Reads
Brachyuran crabs of the family Pinnotheridae have a phylogenetic history linked to a symbiotic lifestyle. Here, we examined the hostuse pattern (ie social organisation), sex ratio, sexual dimorphism and relative growth of the crab Austinixa leptodactyla, a symbiont of the ghost shrimp Neocallichirus maryae. We use these analyses to investigate the A. leptodactyla mating system on the basis that monogamous species occupy host burrows as male–female pairs and have a low degree of sexual dimorphism. To this end, a total of 129 individuals (62 males and 67 females, including 29 brooding females) were retrieved within the burrows of their respective hosts in a population from north-eastern Brazil. Our results show that A. leptodactyla inhabited the host burrows either solitarily (61%) or in pairs (39%). Most of the solitary females (88%) were ovigerous, while the pairs were mainly composed of one male and one female crab, with 13 (65%) of these heterosexual couples including one ovigerous female. Body size of paired crabs of the opposite sex was poorly correlated. The finding of solitary females incubating embryos and the lack of correlation between body size of heterosexual pairs suggest that pair formation is not long term. The sex ratio did not differ significantly from the evenness and no sexual dimorphism was detected between body size or cheliped size of males and females. Body colouration of males was more similar to the sand grains of the beach than that of females. This suggests that males are better adapted than females to roam on the surface of the beach in search of burrows occupied by receptive sexual partners. The observations further support the suggestion that A. leptodactyla is polygamous, but behavioural and histological studies are needed to reveal the details of the polygamous mating system herein inferred for A. leptodactyla.
February 2025
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18 Reads
The grass-feeding plant bug genus Collaria contains important agricultural pest species responsible for significant economic damage to pasture crops in the New World. The genus belongs to Stenodemini (Miridae), with 21 valid species distributed in the Afrotropical, Nearctic, and Neotropical regions, an intriguing distribution for an apparently recently diversified clade associated with grasses. To investigate the evolutionary and biogeographical relationships of Collaria species, a morphological phylogenetic analysis was carried out. The phylogenetic analysis recovered Collaria as monophyletic, with Nabidomiris as its sister group. Within Collaria, two main clades were recovered, one composed exclusively by Afrotropical species, and another by Nearctic and Neotropical species, in addition to one Afrotropical species, C. royi. The biogeographic analysis, using a geographically explicit event model method (GEM), identified various geographic events, including vicariance, sympatry, and founder events. Given the recent diversification of Stenodemini lineages, alternative hypotheses to a Gondwanan origin are proposed. Among them, the vicariant pattern between the Neotropical and the Nearctic + Afrotropical clades is explained by geodispersal, and subsequent vicariance, through a series of large dry land extensions found in the South Atlantic 50 million years ago. The vicariant event between North America and Africa is explained by boreotropical migration, when Africa was connected to Eurasia during the Miocene. Further explanations within the African, Nearctic, and Neotropical clades are provided for the biogeographic patterns recovered. Our results help explain a complex and recent biogeographic history for an important grass-feeding group of plant bugs.
February 2025
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15 Reads
The Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus) belongs to the Neotropical family Cotingidae, inhabiting the Andean mountains from Venezuela to Bolivia. Despite being a recognised and iconic species, most breeding studies of this bird have focused on its display behaviour at communal ‘leks’ rather than its basic nesting biology. Here, we present novel data on incubation behaviour and detailed descriptions of nests, eggs, and nestling development, with the first photographic evidence of nestlings being fed with vertebrates. We found 38 cup-shaped nests located along rocky walls near rivers or creeks in Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Nests were placed on rocky indentations along rivers, creeks, and waterfalls. The mean clutch size was two eggs. Eggs were beige with brown/green spots mainly located towards the wider end. Eggs measured 46.7 ± 1.2 mm by 32.7 ± 0.3 mm and weighed 25.6 ± 0.9 g. The incubation and nestling period lasted 26.0 ± 1.3 and 40.0 ± 2 days, respectively. During the incubation period, the female was the only parent attending the nest, with an average daily nest attentiveness of 87.3 ± 6.6%. The nestlings grew at a logistic curve rate (K) of 0.135 ± 0.005 g and kept their body temperature constant at 39.3°C only after day 30 of development. Detailed natural history accounts of the nest locations are necessary to generate long-term monitoring and successful conservation strategies of Neotropical species, especially for large frugivorous birds such as R. peruvianus that have long nesting cycles, specific nesting locations and are highly sensitive to forest fragmentation.
February 2025
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1 Read
Global biodiversity is declining due to insecticide use against mosquito vectors. Mechanical removal of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) eggs from the container walls emerges as an ecofriendly health safeguard. The aim of this research was to identify which other dipterans have the same ovisposition strategy as A. aegypti and could therefore be affected by this container cleaning technique. Through annual monitoring with ovitraps, coexisting insects that laid their eggs in the same manner as A. aegypti were identified, and the seasonal oviposition patterns of those species were assessed. Different urbanisation levels and oviposition substrates were included in the study design. From late spring to mid-fall, dipteran eggs of Dasyhelea necrophila (Ceratopogonidae) and Clogmia albipunctata (Psychodidae) were found. Clogmia albipunctata has been marked as mechanical vector of pathogens associated with nosocomial infections, while no species of Dasyhelea is of medical importance. Dasyhelea necrophila had a shorter oviposition season (November to February) compared to C. albipunctata and A. aegypti (November to March). Both C. albipunctata and D. necrophila consistently exhibited aggregated egglaying behaviour. Urban conditions and water-saturated fabric led to higher egg proportions for all species. In implementing ovicidal control measures throughout the entire reproductive season, targeting the two species of public health importance, C. albipunctata and A. aegypti, it appears challenging to prevent the removal of the nontarget species D. necrophila. Our results suggest that knowledge about the identity of dipterans breeding in artificial containers and their oviposition patterns are essential knowledge for thinking about environmentally responsible control treatments that cover the largest number of target species.
February 2025
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154 Reads
Marine interstitial habitats (mesopsammon) have been understudied due to complications of exploring its millimetric and highly adapted organisms. The restrictive ecological conditions of this neglected habitat include faint light and a limited amount of space. These have forced its fauna, with gastropod molluscs as one of the most common groups, to adapt by reducing body size to minute (often shell-less) vermiform organisms. These usually simplified heterobranch species are hard to collect and problematic to determine, often including cases of cryptic and pseudo-cryptic speciation. Here, we explore the interstitial heterobranch diversity alongside the Spanish and Catalan coast (Western Mediterranean) to shed light on the taxonomy of this group. Among the 15 localities, we have collected 315 specimens directly from coarse samples and associated habitats, belonging to ca. 39 different species, providing live photographs, species identification based on the current taxonomic knowledge, and species delimitations based on newly generated sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI). Results show the first records for Spain and the Catalan Coast for some of these neglected taxa, thereby reinforcing or expanding its distribution with molecular data. Moreover, two species are described, the lower heterobranch Rhodope salviniplaweni sp. nov. and the nudibranch Embletonia mediterranea sp. nov., and the cephalaspidean Laona vestita comb. nov. is reassigned to a different family. Overall, this study represents a significant advancement in the taxonomic and biogeographic knowledge of interstitial fauna, highlighting the value of continued research in these underexplored habitats.
February 2025
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5 Reads
January 2025
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56 Reads
Two new species, Harpactea bozdaglarensis sp. n. and H. dilekensis sp. n. are described based on both sexes from the Aegean region of Turkey. Both species belong to the rubicunda species group defined for Harpactea due to the characteristics of the copulatory organs and some somatic parts, and H. bozdaglarensis sp. n. resembles H. alexandrae and H. clementi while H. dilekensis sp. n. resembles H. chaniaensis and H. walterdebucki known from the Aegean Islands. Morphometric and meristic characters of the new species and detailed photographs of the copulatory organs are given in the paper.
January 2025
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7 Reads
January 2025
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30 Reads
The superfamily Pseudocerotoidea Lang encompasses Euryleptidae Stimpson, Pseudocerotidae Lang, and Stylostomidae Dittman. These families include conspicuous, flamboyant marine flatworms with a worldwide distribution. Here, we describe a new euryleptid species belonging to Prostheceraeus Schmarda, 1859, based on specimens collected by dredging at depths of 100–180 m off Misaki, Japan. The new species, Prostheceraeus fragum sp. n., is distinguished by its unique dorsal colouration in that oval red maculae are radially distributed along the translucent cream body periphery. Additionally, based on newly collected topotypic specimens, we transfer the poorly known pseudocerotid species Pseudoceros sagamianus Kato, 1937, to the genus Phrikoceros Newman and Cannon, 1996. These specimens possess (1) a pharynx with shallow, simple folds, (2) a deeply ruffled body margin, and (3) ear-like pseudotentacles with folds. Our molecular phylogeny, based on partial 18S and 28S rDNA sequences, yielded two key findings: (1) Pr. fragum sp. n. nested within the clade containing all other Prostheceraeus species, and (2) Phrikoceros sagamianus comb. n. formed a clade with all other Phrikoceros and Monobiceros species, distinct from the Pseudoceros clade. These results support the generic affiliations established through our morphological examinations. Furthermore, based on the resulting phylogenetic trees, we discuss the systematics of Euryleptidae in relation to Stylostomidae.
January 2025
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8 Reads
January 2025
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7 Reads
January 2025
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85 Reads
A comparison between the specimens of the ghost shrimp Cheramoides marginata (Rathbun, 1901) from Caribbean Sea, including the type material, and the specimens from Brazil assigned to this species, establishes that populations in each of these localities belong to the morphologically distinct species. Diagnostic features of the new species from Brazil, Cheramoides samba sp. nov. include: (1) rostrum acutely triangular, extending beyond eyestalks; (2) antennular peduncle slightly shorter than antennal peduncle; (3) third maxilliped merus with rounded inferior margin; (4) first pleopod of male uniramous and composed of two articles; and (5) telson wider than long, posterior margin with median concavity armed with minute acute spine. This is the fourth species in the genus Cheramoides Sakai, 2011 and the second species of this genus from the western Atlantic. A key for identification of four congeneric species of Cheramoides is provided.
January 2025
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12 Reads
January 2025
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54 Reads
Hyalella is a freshwater amphipod genus widely distributed on the American continent. Brazilian species of the genus present a relatively conserved morphology, and the identification of species requires a detailed observation of structures. More recently, phylogeny based on mtDNA has proven a great help in species identification. Herein we describe a new species and use molecular markers to support the hypothesis of a new species. The new species has maxilla 1 palp relatively long, male gnathopod 2 palm with a minute posterior excavation , and uropod 3 longer than the telson, with peduncle and ramus subequal in length. Molecular analysis reveals the genetic distance between the new species and other subterranean Hyalella species, recognising at least five new species, including the one here described. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:43993904
January 2025
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26 Reads
January 2025
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15 Reads
January 2025
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115 Reads
January 2025
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64 Reads
January 2025
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26 Reads
As obligate nocturnal mammals, most bats spend the day hiding in dark shelters, sometimes as gregarious colonies. Roosting in such large colonies may have the advantage of reducing thermoregulatory costs, as the heat dissipated by thousands of bodies raises the temperature of the cave interior. However, bats in large aggregations may also suffer from increased predation risk. Here we studied the effect of a highly gregarious Palaeotropical bat, the wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat (Mops plicatus), on cave temperature and the factors that influence its emergence behaviour. We studied cave temperature, prey abundance, emergence behaviour and attack rates by birds of prey during colony emergence. The study was made at Khao Wongkot Cave, counting more than one million individuals. In all seasons, we observed that the presence of M. plicatus caused relatively higher temperatures of around 30°C inside the cave, while temperatures outside were lower and more variable. This suggests that the body heat of aggregated bats raised the temperature inside the cave, presumably close to the thermo-neutral zone at the roosting sites of bats. Arthropod abundance was highest during late pregnancy/early lactation and lowest during late lactation/post lactation. Bats emerged earliest during the late wet season and latest during the hot season. During periods of high predation risk, bats always emerged as a column, whereas during periods of low predation risk (hot and early wet seasons), individual bats left first, before a column of bats formed, 10 to 20 min after the first individuals exited the cave. Our study highlights that large colonies may provide thermoregulatory benefits that could increase individual fitness. However, aggregations also increase predation costs during emergence. Bats form a column when aerial predator attacks are most frequent. Also, bats seem to adjust their emergence timing in response to seasonal changes in predation risk.
January 2025
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24 Reads
One new species of the family Paraonidae Cerruti, 1909, belonging to the genus Aricidea Webster, 1879, and subgenus Acmira, is described from the Chilika Lagoon on the east coast of India. The species, Aricidea (Acmira) chilikensis sp. n. can be distinguished from other known species of the genus by the presence of a single long arista at the distal end of the modified neurochaetae, median antenna widest at the base and tapering to blunt end, anteriorly short branchiae which gradually increase in size moving posteriorly. Aricidea (Acmira) chilikensis sp. n. is the only species under the subgenus described from a brackish water habitat.
January 2025
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157 Reads
The availability of appropriate habitats and their connectivity are important determinants of the distribution of animal species. In the present study, the influence of environmental covariates on the habitat use of two tody-tyrants (Hemitriccus margaritaceiventer and Hemitriccus mirandae) was verified using single-season occupancy modelling. The co-occurrence patterns of the two species were also analysed using conditional occupancy modelling. The data were collected in remnants of montane forest in north-eastern Brazil using the point count method, with samples being obtained in both dry (November to January) and rainy (May and June) seasons. Four types of environmental covariates were evaluated: the season, elevation, parameters of vegetation structure, and level of environmental degradation. The occupancy of H. margaritaceiventer was influenced primarily by elevation, whereas that of H. mirandae was influenced primarily by tree diameter. These results reflect a predictable relationship between the species and the respective covariates, in particular in the case of H. mirandae. Occupancy and detection probabilities did not vary systematically between seasons. The conditional occupancy indicated that the two species co-occur through an aggregative relationship. The co-occurrence pattern identified here may be attributable to the fragmentation and environmental degradation of the study area, which may have influenced the habitat preferences of the species. These findings provide a better understanding of how the two species select and use their habitats, particularly by showing the effects of topography and vegetation on tody-tyrants. This information will be especially important for developing effective conservation strategies for H. mirandae, a vulnerable species with a restricted geographic distribution.
January 2025
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46 Reads
January 2025
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22 Reads
December 2024
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119 Reads
Three little-known and taxonomically confused gastropod species in the genus Petraeomastus: P. neumayri, P. desgodinsi and P. markamensis comb. n. from the Jinshajiang River Valley of China, are herein identified and redescribed. A new species, as well as the largest species of the family Enidae in China, Petraeomastus gigas Chen, Dai, Wu and Ouyang sp. n., is described from Jinshajiang River Valley. It can be easily distinguished from congeners by its large and dextral-coiling shell of reddish brown colour and irregular white stripes. This new species and the taxo- nomic revision of the genus clarify the long-standing taxonomic problems of Petraeomastus from the Jinshajiang River Valley and provide data necessary for the subsequent research on and protec- tion of these species.
December 2024
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23 Reads
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