Cholini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Molytinae) depositados na Coleção de Invertebrados do Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

In Brazilian Amazonia, Cholini (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Molytinae) is represented by 53 species distributed in seven generaAmeris Dejean, 1821; Cholus Germar, 1824; Homalinotus Sahlberg, 1823; Lobaspis Chevrolat, 1881; Odontoderes Sahlberg, 1823; Ozopherus Pascoe, 1872 and Rhinastus Schoenherr, 1825. This work documents the species of Cholini housed in the Invertebrate Collection of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil and gives the geographical and biological data associated with them. A total of 186 Cholini specimens were identified as belonging to 14 species (13 from Brazilian Amazonia) and five genera (Cholus, Homalinotus, Odontoderes, Ozopherus and Rhinastus). Only 24% of the Cholini species reported from Brazilian Amazonia are actually represented in the INPA collection, underscoring the need for a more systematical collecting based on available biological information. The known geographical distribution was expanded for the following speciesCholus granifer (Chevrolat, 1881) for Brazil; C. pantherinus (Olivier, 1790) for Manaus (Amazonas); Cholus parallelogrammus (Germar, 1824) for Piraquara (Paraná); Homalinotus depressus (Linnaeus, 1758) for lago Janauacá (Amazonas) and rio Tocantins (Pará); H. humeralis (Gyllenhal, 1836) for Novo Airão, Coari (Amazonas) and Porto Velho (Rondônia); H. nodipennis (Chevrolat, 1878) for Carauari, Lábrea (Amazonas) and Ariquemes (Rondônia); H. validus (Olivier, 1790) for rio Araguaia (Brasil), Manaus (Amazonas), rio Tocantins (Pará), Porto Velho and BR 364, Km 130 (Rondônia); Odontoderes carinatus (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) for Manaus (Amazonas); O. spinicollis (Boheman, 1836) for rio Uraricoera (Roraima); and Ozopherus muricatus Pascoe, 1872 for lago Janauacá (Amazonas). Homalinotus humeralis is reported for the first time from "urucuri" palm, Attalea phalerata Mart. ex Spreng.Na Amazônia brasileira, Cholini (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Molytinae) é representada por 53 espécies, distribuídas em sete gêneros: Ameris Dejean, 1821; Cholus Germar, 1824; Homalinotus Sahlberg, 1823; Lobaspis Chevrolat, 1881; Odontoderes Sahlberg, 1823; Ozopherus Pascoe, 1872 e Rhinastus Schoenherr, 1825. Este trabalho documenta as espécies de Cholini depositadas na Coleção de Invertebrados do Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brasil, além de apresentar a distribuição geográfica e informações sobre a biologia dessas espécies. Foram identificados 186 espécimes de Cholini, pertencentes a 14 espécies (13 da Amazônia brasileira) e cinco gêneros (Cholus, Homalinotus, Odontoderes, Ozopherus e Rhinastus). Somente 24% das espécies de Cholini registradas para a Amazônia brasileira estão representadas na coleção do INPA, ressaltando a necessidade de um esforço de coleta sistemático baseado na informação biológica disponível. Foi ampliada a distribuição geográfica conhecida das seguintes espécies: Cholus granifer (Chevrolat, 1881) para Brasil; C. pantherinus (Olivier, 1790) para Manaus (Amazonas); Cholus parallelogrammus (Germar, 1824) para Piraquara (Paraná); Homalinotus depressus (Linnaeus, 1758) para lago Janauacá (Amazonas) e rio Tocantins (Pará); H. humeralis (Gyllenhal, 1836) para Novo Airão, Coari (Amazonas) e Porto Velho (Rondônia); H. nodipennis (Chevrolat, 1878) para Carauari, Lábrea (Amazonas) e Ariquemes (Rondônia); H. validus (Olivier, 1790) para rio Araguaia (Brasil), Manaus (Amazonas), rio Tocantins (Pará), Porto Velho e BR 364, Km 130 (Rondônia); Odontoderes carinatus (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) para Manaus (Amazonas); O. spinicollis (Boheman, 1836) para rio Uraricoera (Roraima) e Ozopherus muricatus Pascoe, 1872 para lago Janauacá (Amazonas). Homalinotus humeralis é associado pela primeira vez com a palmeira urucuri Attalea phalerata Mart. ex Spreng

Morphology, geographical variation and the subspecies of marsh tit Poecile palustris in Britain and central Europe

Capsule: All British Marsh Tits belong to subspecies Poecile palustris dresseri, being smaller than nominate P. p. palustris of central Europe. Aims: Determining the subspecies of Marsh Tit in Britain to test whether ssp. P. p. palustris occurs in northern England and Scotland, by assessing regional variation in size compared with central European birds. Methods: 1147 wing length and 250 tail length measurements from 953 Marsh Tits were compared between eight British locations to test for regional variation. Biometrics were compared between birds from Britain and six locations within the continental European range of ssp. palustris. Results: There was no regional variation in wing or tail lengths among British Marsh Tits, indicating that all resident birds belong to ssp. dresseri. There was no evidence supporting the existence of ssp. palustris in northern England. British birds were significantly smaller than those from continental Europe, with proportionately shorter tails, consistent across all age and sex classes. Conclusion: All British Marsh Tits should be considered as ssp. dresseri, with ssp. palustris being limited to continental Europe. With no evidence of regional variation in size within Britain, reliable sexing methods based on biometrics could be applied in demographic studies throughout the country

Taxonomic status of the extinct Canary Islands Oystercatcher Haematopus meadewaldoi

Mitochondrial genes were sequenced from four specimens of the extinct Canary Islands Oystercatcher Haematopus meadewaldoi and compared with African Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini, Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus and an old unidentified extralimital ‘black’ oystercatcher specimen from The Gambia. At these loci, H. meadewaldoi was approximately 99.65% identical to multiple Eurasian Oystercatcher samples and in phylogenetic trees fell within the range of genetic variation observed in that species. The mystery Gambian bird was resolved as an extralimital H. moquini. We conclude that H. meadewaldoi was most likely a recently diverged melanistic morph or subspecies of H.ostralegus, although further genomic studies will be required to determine whether there has been a period of isolation followed by introgression

Stable isotopes and mtDNA reveal niche segregation but no evidence of intergradation along a habitat gradient in the Lesser Whitethroat complex (Sylvia curruca; Passeriformes; Aves)

Niche segregation plays a critical role in the speciation process, but determining the extent to which taxa are geographically or ecologically isolated is challenging. In this study, we use stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ18O) to test for ecological differences among taxa in the Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca complex. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) revealed 6 distinct haplotype groups, which conform to at least 5 distinct taxa. Stable isotopes provided insight into geographical and broad-scale ecological differences among haplotypes. The most striking isotope differences were between the populations inhabiting Siberian boreal forest (S. c. blythi) from the one inhabiting semi-desert in Kazakhstan (S. c. halimodendri). It is generally assumed that these two populations form a morphological cline along a gradient from mesic to xeric habitat. Our sample includes a large proportion of morphologically intermediate individuals that appear to represent a hybrid population. However, in all of these, there is strict correspondence between haplotype and isotope signature, suggesting an ecological division on the breeding grounds between all our samples of these two taxa. The lack of ecologically intermediate individuals among our sample of morphologically intermediate ones thus speaks against the existence of a cline. The two taxa blythi and halimodendri emerge as potential models for the study of the early stages of the speciation process. While differences in stable isotopes may be largely influenced by geography, we also demonstrate how, in specific instances (such as the alleged cline reported here), they may be used to evaluate niche segregation between taxa, providing information of importance for determination of species limits