Herpetofauna From An Urban Pampa Fragment In Southern Brazil: Composition, Structure And Conservation

Faunistic inventories regarding natural history of amphibians and reptiles are considered scarce and very little is known about their assemblages in urban areas; the Pampas morphoclimatic domain, also known as Uruguayan Savannah or Southern Grasslands, is also poorly known regarding their faunal composition. Herein, we present a checklist of 16 amphibian and 20 reptile species recorded over a course of four years in the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciências e Tecnologia, Câmpus Pelotas-Visconde da Graça, in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. We also present data on natural history and discuss conservation efforts to be undertaken in the area, in one of the least preserved and known Brazilian morphoclimatic domains, providing insights into urban herpetofaunal diversity patterns and showing the importance of modified areas in its conservation. © 2016 Check List and Authors.12

Redescription, geographic distribution and ecological niche modeling of Elapomorphus wuchereri (Serpentes: Dipsadidae)

The original description of Elapomorphus wuchereri Günther, 1861 included a drawing and brief comments about the morphology of three specimens; two of the latter belong to another species and the holotype is lost. Based on the discovery of new specimens, we redescribe Elapomorphus wuchereri and designate a neotype. We discuss the variation and the taxonomic history of the species, and based on the results of a species distribution model analysis (SDM), we describe the distribution, extent of occurrence, and conservation status.A descrição original de Elapomorphus wuchereri Günther, 1861 continha um desenho e comentários breves acerca da morfologia de três espécimes; dois destes pertencem a outra espécie e o holótipo está perdido. Com base na descoberta de novos espécimes, redescrevemos Elapomorphus wuchereri e designamos um neótipo. Discutimos a variação e o histórico taxonômico da espécie e, com base nos resultados de uma modelagem de nicho ecológico (SDM), descrevemos sua distribuição, extensão de ocorrência e status de conservação

Chironius fuscus (Serpentes: Colubridae): predação sobre anuros em reprodução explosiva

Anurans compose an important part of the diet of several species of Neotropical snakes. Here we report a predator-prey interaction involving Chironius fuscus and Ololygon argyreornata. A young individual of C. fuscus preyed three specimens of O. argyreornata, in soil, while occurred explosive reproduction of frogs. This contribution reinforces ecological data that C. fuscus forages mainly on the ground. We believe that this interaction can occur with relative frequency and that eventually arboreal frogs can compose important sample in C. fuscus’ diet, which is based on terrestrial amphibians.Keywords: anurophagy, Colubrinae, diet, feeding habits.Os anuros compõem uma parcela importante da dieta de diversas espécies de serpentes neotropicais. Neste trabalho, relatamos uma interação de predador-presa envolvendo Chironius fuscus e Ololygon argyreornata. Um indivíduo jovem de C. fuscus apresou três espécimes de O. argyreornata, no solo, enquanto ocorria reprodução explosiva dos anuros. Essa contribuição reforça os dados ecológicos de que C. fuscus forrageia, principalmente, no chão. Acreditamos que essa interação possa ocorrer com relativa frequência e que, eventualmente, os anuros arborícolas possam compor importante amostra na dieta de C. fuscus, a qual é baseada em anfíbios terrestres.Palavras-chave: anurofagia, Colubrinae, dieta, hábitos alimentares

Taxonomic status of Apostolepis barrioi Lema, 1978, with comments on the taxonomic instability of Apostolepis Cope, 1862 (Serpentes, Dipsadidae)

Apostolepis is a diverse neotropical snake genus, which has been historically subjected to poor taxonomic descriptions, largely based on either a small type series or subjective diagnoses. We evaluate the case of Apostolepis barrioi Lema, 1978 and its intricate taxonomic history, suggesting its synonymization with Apostolepis dimidiata (Jan, 1862), and providing brief commentary on the taxonomic instability that has been plaguing the genus

Can the careHPV test performed in mobile units replace cytology for screening in rural and remote areas?

BACKGROUND Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing can be crucial for women who have limited access to traditional screening. The current study compared the results obtained through HPV DNA testing with those obtained through cytology-based screening. METHODS A total of 3068 women aged 18 to 85 years were enrolled in an opportunistic cervical cancer screening program developed by the Barretos Cancer Hospital and performed by a team of health professionals working within a mobile unit from March to December 2012, followed by statistical analyses. For each patient, 2 different cervical samples were collected and preserved in a careHPV assay and SurePath medium, respectively. RESULTS High-risk HPV (hr-HPV) DNA was detected in 10.0% of women, with the majority (86.7%) demonstrating no abnormal Papanicolaou test results. The following cytological samples were found to be hr-HPV positive: 8.2% of the normal samples; 39.4% of the samples with atypical squamous/glandular cells of undetermined significance; 38.5% of the samples with atypical squamous/glandular cells of undetermined significance, cannot exclude high-grade lesion; 55.3% of the samples with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions; and 100% of the samples with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. Colposcopy examinations were performed among 33.4% of the women with positive results on at least 1 of the tests (HPV DNA positive and/or cytology with atypical squamous/glandular cells of undetermined significance, cannot exclude high-grade lesion or high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions), and 59.5% of these women underwent biopsies. Among these samples, 18.2% were confirmed as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. CONCLUSIONS The careHPV test was demonstrated to be a feasible alternative to primary screening in low-resource settings accessed through the use of mobile units.Adriana T. Lorenzi was supported (via a scholarship) by CNPq process no. 573799/2008-3 and FAPESP process no. 2008/57889-1 through the National HPV Research and Technology Institute of São Paulo, Brazil (INCT-HPV)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Inclusão, exclusão e reinclusão: Chironius brazili (Serpentes, Colubridae) no Rio Grande do Sul, sul do Brasil

Although Chironius brazili Hamdan and Fernandes, 2015, was recently described, its occurrence in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, has been discussed for at least three decades. In this work, we evaluate the occurrence of C. brazili in Rio Grande do Sul, presenting three new records, a distribution extension and comments in its available literature records. In the Pampa biome, all records are near areas of Atlantic Forest, in grassywoody steppes with gallery forest, in western Rio Grande do Sul. Our records suggest that C. brazili might occur in the Central Depression of Rio Grande do Sul, Uruguay and adjacent areas to the Western portion of Rio Grande do Sul.Keywords: geographical distribution, gallery forest, Pampa, Southern Brazil.Embora Chironius brazili Hamdan and Fernandes, 2015, tenha sido recentemente descrita, sua ocorrência no Rio Grande do Sul tem sido discutida há, pelo menos, três décadas. Neste trabalho, avaliamos a ocorrência de C. brazili no Rio Grande do Sul, apresentando três novos registros, uma extensão de distribuição e comentários sobre seus registros disponíveis em literatura. No bioma Pampa, todos os registros estão perto de áreas de Mata Atlântica, em estepes gramíneo-lenhosas com mata ciliar, no oeste do Rio Grande do Sul. Nossos registros indicam que C. brazili pode ocorrer na Depressão Central do Rio Grande do Sul, Uruguai e áreas adjacentes à porção ocidental do Rio Grande do Sul.Palavras-chave: distribuição geográfica, floresta de galeria, Pampa, Sul do Brasil

Evolutionary dynamics shape two passive defensive mechanisms in Neotropical snake radiations

We mapped the distribution of two defensive behaviors (balling and head hiding) of Neotropical snakes to evaluate its distribution in distinct phylogenetic groups. Balling behavior was observed in 58 out of the 167 examined species across seven families. Head hiding was observed in a total of 100 species across nine families. From the high prevalence of balling behavior in basal groups of snakes, such as Anomalepididae, Boidae, Leptotyphlopidae, Tropidophiidae, and Typhlopidae, and the low prevalence among species of recent diversification radiations, such as Elapidae and Viperidae, we suggest that this behavior evolved in basal groups and persisted in some derived taxa. Balling was not observed in association with other defensive strategies, while head hiding can occur in combination with caudal elevation, caudal vibration, and body flattening. Therefore, head hiding, in contrast to balling behavior, presents itself as putatively more flexible, as it should allow for an escalated degree of defensive displays