Warming drives cryptic declines of amphibians in eastern Brazil

A taxonomic revision of the Nystiellidae from Brazil, including samples from the Rio Grande Rise, South Atlantic, was performed based on shell morphology. Five genera and 17 species were recognized. For the richest genus,Eccliseogyra, the three species previously recorded from Brazil were revised:E. brasiliensisandE. maracatu, previously known only from their respective type series, were re-examined. Newly available material ofE. maracatuexpanded the known geographic range of this species to off south-east Brazil.Eccliseogyra nitidais now recorded from north-eastern to south-eastern Brazil, as well as from the Rio Grande Rise. Three species ofEccliseogyraare newly recorded from the South Atlantic:E. monnioti, previously known from the north-eastern Atlantic, occurs off eastern Brazil and on the Rio Grande Rise; its protoconch is described for the first time, confirming its family allocation.Eccliseogyra pyrrhiasoccurs off eastern Brazil and on the Rio Grande Rise, andE. folinioff eastern Brazil. The genusIphitusis newly recorded from the South Atlantic.Iphitus robertsiwas found off northern Brazil, although the shells show some differences from the type material, with less-pronounced spiral keels. Additional new finds showed thatIphitus cancellatusranges from eastern Brazil to the Rio Grande Rise, and Iphitusnotiossp. nov. is restricted to the Rio Grande Rise.Narrimania, previously recorded from Brazil based on dubious records, is confirmed, including the only two living species described for the genus:N. azelotes, previously only known from the type locality in Florida, andN. concinna, previously known from the Mediterranean. A third species,Narrimania raquelaesp. nov. is described from eastern Brazil, diagnosed by its numerous and thinner cancellate sculpture. To the three species ofOpaliopsispreviously known from Brazil, a fourth species,O. arnaldoisp. nov., is added from eastern Brazil, and diagnosed by its very thin spiral sculpture, absence of a varix, and thinner microscopic parallel axial striae.Papuliscala nordestina, originally described from north-east Brazil, is recorded off eastern Brazil and synonymized withP. elongata, a species previously known only from the North Atlantic.

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Regionally extinct species rediscovered: the bush dog Speothos venaticus in Minas Gerais, south-eastern Brazil

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605314000118 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 60-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Guilherme Braga Ferreira ◽

Marcelo Juliano Rabelo Oliveira ◽

Rogério Cunha de Paula ◽

Flávio Henrique Guimarães Rodrigues ◽

Érica Daniele Cunha Carmo

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Minas Gerais ◽

The State ◽

South American ◽

North West ◽

South Eastern ◽

The North ◽

Eastern Brazil ◽

Bush Dog ◽

Speothos Venaticus

AbstractThe bush dog Speothos venaticus, a rare Near Threatened South American canid that lives in packs, was thought to be extinct in Minas Gerais state, south-eastern Brazil, until recently. Here, we report four recent records of the species in Minas Gerais, the first in the state since the description of the species in 1842. All records are from the Cerrado ecosystem in the north and north-west of the state; two are from animals found dead, one from footprints and another from a camera trap. Three of the records were inside or close (< 10 km) to strict protected areas, in a region recognized as the Protected Areas Mosaic Sertão Veredas–Peruaçu, where we expect any new records of the bush dog to be found. We discuss the low probability of detecting the bush dog and the main regional threats to the species, and emphasize the need to protect large and interconnected natural areas and keep them free of domestic dogs to avoid the extinction of the bush dog in Minas Gerais.

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Population biology and diet of the puffer fish Lagocephalus laevigatus (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) in Caraguatatuba Bay, south-eastern Brazil

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315411001299 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 92 (2) ◽

pp. 407-412 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

M.R. Denadai ◽

F.B. Santos ◽

E. Bessa ◽

L.P. Bernardes ◽

A. Turra

Keyword(s):

Population Biology ◽

Temporal Distribution ◽

Late Winter ◽

Entire Study Period ◽

Entire Study ◽

South Eastern ◽

Eastern Brazil ◽

Puffer Fish ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Sexually Mature

This study describes the spatio-temporal distribution, population biology, and diet of the puffer fish Lagocephalus laevigatus in Caraguatatuba Bay, south-eastern Brazil. Monthly samples were taken between August 2003 and October 2004 by trawls in two areas, south and north, at depths of 1 to 4 m. The fish were measured and their sex and reproductive stage determined. The abundance of this species was compared between areas and among months, and the items in the diet were identified and quantified. Lagocephalus laevigatus was rare in Caraguatatuba Bay, where only 199 small individuals (4.8 to 15.4 cm) were obtained in the entire study period, suggesting that this species uses the estuary as a nursery. None of the specimens of L. laevigatus captured in Caraguatatuba Bay were sexually mature. Higher densities of L. laevigatus in the bay were recorded in the south area and between October and December 2003, i.e. in the spring, suggesting that spawning may occur from late winter to spring (August through to November). The diet items consumed by L. laevigatus in Caraguatatuba Bay were, as expected from the current literature, crustaceans, mainly amphipods, and fish. However, the most-consumed item was the sea whip Leptogorgia setacea (Cnidaria). This feeding habit may be related to the presence of toxins (tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin) that are frequently found in the skin and viscera of L. laevigatus, which may be sequestered from the sea whip, which possibility still needs to be specifically evaluated.

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