Anuran diversity indicates that Caatinga relictual Neotropical forests are more related to the Atlantic Forest than to the Amazon

The relationships among the morphoclimatic domains of South America have been a major biogeographical issue of recent years. Palynological, geological and phytogeographical data suggest that the Amazon Forest and the Atlantic Forest were connected during part of the Tertiary and Quaternary periods. This study uses amphibians as model organisms to investigate whether relict northeastern forests are a transition between the Amazon Forest and the Atlantic Forest. We compiled matrices of species composition for four different phytogeographic formations and “Brejos de Altitude,” and analyzed them using clustering methods and Cladistic Analysis of Distributions and Endemism. Our results indicate that the anurofauna of these northeastern forest relicts is most similar in composition to the areas of the Atlantic Forest included in this study, and most dissimilar to the Amazon Forest, which leads us to affirm that events of biotic exchange were more frequent within the Atlantic Forest areas

Reproduction of a whiptail lizard (Ameivula ocellifera, Teiidae) from a coastal area in northeastern Brazil

The reproductive ecology of Ameivula ocellifera was studied from September 2009 to August 2010 in a coastal area of the state of Ceará, Brazil. Females reproduced continuously throughout the year, with a peak at the end of the rainy season. Even though there was a predominance of pre-reproductive individuals in the sample, gonadal activity of males peaked synchronously to female reproduction. Mean clutch size was 1.98 ± 0.56 and positively associated with female body size, while mean egg volume was 510.54 ± 84.29 mm3 and unrelated to female body size. We did not find any association between clutch size and average egg volume

Prevalence and diversity of hepatozoon in native and exotic geckos from Brazil

Hepatozoon is a genus of hemogregarines constituting the most widespread and common reptile hemoparasite. Although various molecular assessments of these parasites have been conducted in lizards from Africa and Europe, similar studies are needed for South American lizards. Through amplification and sequencing of fragments of the 18S rRNA gene, we assess the prevalence of Hepatozoon parasites in 230 geckos from South America, including the endemic species Hemidactylus agrius, Hemidactylus brasilianus, Lygodactylus klugei, Phyllopezus pollicaris, Phyllopezus periosus, and an exotic species, Hemidactylus mabouia. We found an overall low prevalence of Hepatozoon infection (7/230, 3%) with only 3 of the 6 host species infected with Hepatozoon (Hemidactylus mabouia, P. pollicaris, and P. periosus). Within the 7 infected host samples, 5 genetically distinct lineages of Hepatozoon parasites were identified, only 1 of which was similar to previously published haplotypes. Thus, although prevalence is low, genetically based diversity of Hepatozoon in geckos from South America is very high. Three of these lineages appear basal to 1 of the major clades of Hepatozoon, suggesting that this clade might have originated in South America, and thereby indicating a potential phylogeographic pattern that had not been previously identified. Future studies should assess the distribution and competence of invertebrate hosts in the regions analyzed, and Hepatozoon diversity in other less well-known regions of the world. © 2015 American Society of Parasitologists.This study was supported by a CNPq postdoctoral fellowship (Process No. 201962/2010-1) to DMBN and supported by project (Process No. 309617/2012-0). JPM was funded through a Ph.D. grant (SFRH/BD/74305/2010) supported by FCT doctoral fellowships under the Programa Operacional Potencial Humano–Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional funds (POPH-QREN) from the European Social Fund and Portuguese Ministério da Educação e Ciência. DJH is supported by “Genomics and evolutionary biology,” co-financed by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme 2007/2013 (ON.2–O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).Peer Reviewe

Ecologia e história natural das serpentes de uma área de Caatinga no nordeste brasileiro

A fauna de serpentes do bioma Caatinga é uma das menos estudadas do Brasil. Estudamos a assembleia de serpentes de uma área de Caatinga arbustivo-arbórea a fim de descrever a história natural das espécies ocorrentes na região. Um total de 636 indivíduos de 22 espécies de quatro famílias foi registrado. A distribuição das abundâncias das espécies na área é log-normal e a composição apresenta serpentes típicas de Caatinga sendo Oxybelis aeneus (Wagler, 1824) e Philodryas nattereri Steindachner, 1870 as espécies mais comuns. A história natural de cada espécie é descrita a partir das informações sobre padrões de atividade, dieta, uso do ambiente, reprodução e repertório defensivo obtidas durante o estudo e de informações disponíveis na literatura. A área de estudo está em uma área prioritária para conservação e os resultados reforçam que políticas conservacionistas sejam aplicadas na região

Venomics and antivenomics of Bothrops erythromelas from five geographic populations within the Caatinga ecoregion of northeastern Brazil

The Caatinga lancehead, Bothrops erythromelas, is a medically relevant species, responsible for most of the snakebite accidents in most parts of its distribution range in northeastern Brazil. The spectrum and geographic variability of its venom toxins were investigated applying a venomics approach to venom pools from five geographic areas within the Caatinga ecoregion. Despite its wide habitat, populations of B. erythromelas from Ceará, Pernambuco, Juazeiro, Paraiba, and Ilha de Itaparica exhibit highly conserved venom proteomes. Mirroring their compositional conservation, the five geographic venom pools also showed qualitatively and quantitatively overlapping antivenomic profiles against antivenoms generated in Vital Brazil (BR) and Clodomiro Picado (CR) Institutes, using different venoms in the immunization mixtures. The paraspecificity exhibited by the Brazilian SAB and the Costa Rican BCL antivenoms against venom toxins from B. erythromelas indicates large immunoreactive epitope conservation across genus Bothrops during the last ~ 14 million years, thus offering promise for the possibility of generating a broad-spectrum bothropic antivenom. Biological Significance Accidental snakebite envenomings represent an important public health hazard in Brazil. Ninety per cent of the yearly estimated 20-30,000 snakebite accidents are caused by species of the Bothrops genus. Bothrops erythromelas, a small, moderately stocky terrestrial venomous snake, is responsible for most of the snakebite accidents in its broad distribution range in the Caatinga, a large ecoregion in northeastern Brazil. To gain a deeper insight into the spectrum of medically important toxins present in the venom of the Caatinga lancehead, we applied a venomics approach to define the proteome and geographic variability of adult B. erythromelas venoms from five geographic regions. Although intraspecific compositional variation between venoms among specimens from different geographic regions has long been appreciated by herpetologists and toxinologists as a general feature of highly adaptable and widely distributed snake species, the five B. erythromelas populations investigated exhibit highly conserved venom proteomes. The overall toxin profile of the Caatinga lancehead's venom explains the local and systemic effects observed in envenomations by B. erythromelas. The five geographic venom pools sampled also showed qualitatively and quantitatively overlapping antivenomic profiles against antivenoms generated using different bothropic venoms in the immunization mixtures. The large immunoreactive epitope conservation across genus Bothrops offers promise for the generation of a broad-spectrum bothropic antivenom.Ministerio de Ciencia é Innovación/[BFU2010-17373]//EspañaMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad/[BFU2013-42833-P]//EspañaGeneralitat Valenciana/[PROMETEO/2010/005]//EspañaPrograma Iberoamericano de Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo/[BIOTOX P211RT0412]/CYTED/EspañaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[741-B2-652]/UCR/Costa RicaConsejo Nacional de Rectores/[741-B2-652]/FEES-CONARE/Costa RicaGenoprot/[560931/2010-7]//BrasilUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias de la Salud::Instituto Clodomiro Picado (ICP