Revisiting the Andean butterfly Eryphanis zolvizora group (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) : one or several species?

Eryphanis zolvizora (Hewitson, 1877) is a rare Andean endemic butterfly, described from Bolivia, which has been historically classified either as a unique species, or as part of a group of three allopatric species from Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. In this paper, the group is revised using more than 200 specimens housed in 35 European and North and South American public and private collections. For the first time, the presence of the group in Western Ecuador and Venezuela is confirmed, and important data on Peruvian populations are provided. In some populations, individual variations of genitalia are observed. Nevertheless, male genitalia allow the distinction of four geographical groups. Considering also habitus characters, eight taxa are distinguished and considered to be subspecies, of which five are new: Eryphanis zolvizora inca ssp. nov., Eryphanis zolvizora chachapoya ssp. nov., Eryphanis zolvizora casagrande ssp. nov., Eryphanis zolvizora reyi ssp. nov., and Eryphanis zolvizora isabelae ssp. nov. In the present state of knowledge, these taxa are allopatric, except for a possible geographic overlap in central Peru, where data are insufficient to prove sympatry. The “several subspecies vs. several species” dilemma is discussed, considering its impact for conservation action and policies

Cultural adaptation of birthing services in rural Ayacucho, Peru.

PROBLEM: Maternal mortality is particularly high among poor, indigenous women in rural Peru, and the use of facility care is low, partly due to cultural insensitivities of the health care system. APPROACH: A culturally appropriate delivery care model was developed in poor and isolated rural communities, and implemented between 1999 and 2001 in cooperation with the Quechua indigenous communities and health professionals. Data on birth location and attendance in one health centre have been collected up to 2007. LOCAL SETTING: The international nongovernmental organization, Health Unlimited, and its Peruvian partner organization, Salud Sín Límites Perú, conducted the project in Santillana district in Ayacucho. RELEVANT CHANGES: The model involves features such as a rope and bench for vertical delivery position, inclusion of family and traditional birth attendants in the delivery process and use of the Quechua language. The proportion of births delivered in the health facility increased from 6% in 1999 to 83% in 2007 with high satisfaction levels. LESSONS LEARNED: Implementing a model of skilled delivery attendance that integrates modern medical and traditional Andean elements is feasible and sustainable. Indigenous women with little formal education do use delivery services if their needs are met. This contradicts common victim-blaming attitudes that ascribe high levels of home births to 'cultural preferences' or 'ignorance'

Essai de synthèse sur la métallogénie du Pérou

Les ressources minières du Pérou sont associées aux cycles orogéniques précambriens, paléozoïques et surtout andin. Aux cycles précambriens sont associés principalement des indices de Ni et Cr dans des roches ultrabasiques en Cordillère Orientale. Aux cycles paléozoïques sont associées des minéralisations aurifères en filons et en mantos et amas stratiformes volcanogènes ainsi que des minéralisations polymétalliques filoniennes liées à l'activité magmatique éohercynienne et tardihercynienne. Au cycle andin est associé l'ensemble des minéralisations à caratère économique de Cu, Zn, Pb, Ag, Sn, W... Les gisements andins sont groupés en provinces métallogéniques parrallèles à la chaine mais généralement limitées à un segment de celle-ci. Cette segmentation, à laquelle la province jurassique des gisements filoniens hypothermaux ou pyrométasomatiques de Fe de la côte n'obéit pas, joue pour de nombreuses caratéristiques de la chaîne autres que métallogéniques et est interprétée comme résultant en grande partie d'une structuration pré-mésozoïque de la bordure ouest du continent sud-américain. La distribution des provinces métallogéniques andines est alors interprétée comme résultante de l'influence, différente selon les segments et selon les époques, de la croûte continentale sur l'évolution et la mise en place de magmas calcoalcalins potentiellement métallogéniques