High Trypanosoma spp. diversity is maintained by bats and triatomines in Espírito Santo state, Brazil

The aim of this study was to reevaluate the ecology of an area in the Atlantic Forest, southeast Brazil, where Chagas disease (CD) has been found to occur. In a previous study, immediately after the occurrence of a CD case, we did not observe any sylvatic small mammals or dogs with Trypanosoma cruzi cruzi infections, but Triatoma vitticeps presented high T. c. cruzi infection rates. In this study, we investigated bats together with non-volant mammals, dogs, and triatomines to explore other possible T. c. cruzi reservoirs/hosts in the area. Seventy-three non-volant mammals and 186 bats were captured at three sites within the Guarapari municipality, Espírito Santo state. Rio da Prata and Amarelos sites exhibited greater richness in terms of non-volant mammals and bats species, respectively. The marsupial Metachirus nudicaudatus, the rodent Trinomys paratus, and the bats Artibeus lituratus and Carollia perspicillata were the most frequently captured species. As determined by positive hemocultures, only two non-volant mammals were found to be infected by Trypanosoma species: Monodelphis americana, which was infected by T. cascavelli, T. dionisii and Trypanosoma sp., and Callithrix geoffroyi, which was infected by T. minasense. Bats presented T. c. cruzi TcI and TcIII/V, T. c. marinkellei, T. dionisii, T. rangeli B and D, and Trypanosoma sp. infections. Seven dogs were infected with T. cruzi based only on serological exams. The triatomines T. vitticeps and Panstrongylus geniculatus were found to be infected by trypanosomes via microscopy. According to molecular characterization, T. vitticeps specimens were infected with T. c. cruzi TcI, TcII, TcIII/V, and TcIV, T. c. marinkellei and T. dionisii. We observed high trypanosome diversity in a small and fragmented region of the Atlantic Forest. This diversity was primarily maintained by bats and T. vitticeps. Our findings show that the host specificity of the Trypanosoma genus should be thoroughly reviewed. In addition, our data show that CD cases can occur without an enzootic cycle near residential areas

Seasonally flooded stepping stones: emerging diversity of small mammal assemblage in the Amazonia-Cerrado ecotone, central Brazil

Seasonally flooded natural forest fragments, so-called ipucas, in the Araguaia alluvial plain of the state of Tocantins, central Brazil, represent a peculiar landscape that is poorly surveyed. This study considers the diversity in the small mammal assemblage and the zoogeographical patterns of this assemblage when compared to 30 other study sites in Brazil. Results: ‘Ipucas’ harbour species adapted to disturbed habitats that are common in fragmented landscapes and endemic species of the Cerrado. However, they also constitute the most central-eastern distribution limit of one typical Amazonian species. These fragments are closely related to the central-western region of Brazil, in the Amazonia-Cerrado ecotone, which lies in the so-called arc of deforestation. Conclusions: Our results reinforce the idea that the habitat mosaic found in the Araguaia alluvial plain has an important role in promoting the high biodiversity of this area and that natural forest fragments may act as a refuge and food resource for several species. These fragments may also constitute essential stepping stones for smallmammal species within agricultural landscapes. Further studies are essential to better understand small mammal communities inhabiting natural forest fragments in the Araguaia alluvial plain, and these will support in assessing the future of this fauna and, thereby, help to establish future conservation practices in this area

Atlantic mammal traits: a dataset of morphological traits of mammals in the atlantic forest of south America

Measures of traits are the basis of functional biological diversity. Numerous works consider mean species-level measures of traits while ignoring individual variance within species. However, there is a large amount of variation within species and it is increasingly apparent that it is important to consider trait variation not only between species, but also within species. Mammals are an interesting group for investigating trait-based approaches because they play diverse and important ecological functions (e.g., pollination, seed dispersal, predation, grazing) that are correlated with functional traits. Here we compile a data set comprising morphological and life history information of 279 mammal species from 39,850 individuals of 388 populations ranging from −5.83 to −29.75 decimal degrees of latitude and −34.82 to −56.73 decimal degrees of longitude in the Atlantic forest of South America. We present trait information from 16,840 individuals of 181 species of non-volant mammals (Rodentia, Didelphimorphia, Carnivora, Primates, Cingulata, Artiodactyla, Pilosa, Lagomorpha, Perissodactyla) and from 23,010 individuals of 98 species of volant mammals (Chiroptera). The traits reported include body mass, age, sex, reproductive stage, as well as the geographic coordinates of sampling for all taxa. Moreover, we gathered information on forearm length for bats and body length and tail length for rodents and marsupials. No copyright restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.Fil: Gonçalves, Fernando. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Bovendorp, Ricardo S.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Beca, Gabrielle. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Bello, Carolina. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Costa Pereira, Raul. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Muylaert, Renata L.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Rodarte, Raisa R.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Villar, Nacho. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Souza, Rafael. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Graipel, Maurício E.. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Cherem, Jorge J.. Caipora Cooperativa, Florianopolis; BrasilFil: Faria, Deborah. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Baumgarten, Julio. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Alvarez, Martín R.. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Vieira, Emerson M.. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Cáceres, Nilton. Universidade Federal de Santa María. Santa María; BrasilFil: Pardini, Renata. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Leite, Yuri L. R.. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Costa, Leonora Pires. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Mello, Marco Aurelio Ribeiro. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Fischer, Erich. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Passos, Fernando C.. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Varzinczak, Luiz H.. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Prevedello, Jayme A.. Universidade do Estado de Rio do Janeiro; BrasilFil: Cruz-Neto, Ariovaldo P.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Carvalho, Fernando. Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense; BrasilFil: Reis Percequillo, Alexandre. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Paviolo, Agustin Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; ArgentinaFil: Duarte, José M. B.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasil. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Bernard, Enrico. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Agostini, Ilaria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; ArgentinaFil: Lamattina, Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina. Ministerio de Salud de la Nación; ArgentinaFil: Vanderhoeven, Ezequiel Andres. Ministerio de Salud de la Nación; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentin

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others

Historical connections among river basins and climatic changes explain the biogeographic history of a water rat

Background The water rat Nectomys squamipes (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) is a semiaquatic rodent from eastern South America that shows shallow genetic structure across space, according to some studies. We tested the influence of hydrography and climatic changes on the genetic and phylogeographic structure of this semiaquatic small mammal. Methods DNA sequences of two mitochondrial genetic markers (Cyt b and D-loop) and six microsatellite loci from water rats were collected at 50 localities in five river basins in the Atlantic Forest along the eastern coast of South America. We evaluated the genetic structure within and among river basins, and we estimated divergence dates. Species distribution models for the present and past were built to identify possible gene flow paths. Results Mitochondrial data and species distribution models showed coherent results. Microsatellite loci showed a more complex pattern of genetic differentiation. The diversification of N. squamipes haplotypes occurred during the Pleistocene and the river basin cannot explain most of the genetic structure. We found evidence of population expansion during the last glacial maximum, and gene flow paths indicate historical connections among rivers in the Atlantic Forest. Discussion Historical connections among rivers in the Atlantic Forest may have allowed N. squamipes to disperse farther across and within basins, leading to shallow genetic structure. Population expansions and gene flow through the emerged continental shelf during glacial period support the Atlantis forest hypothesis, thus challenging the forest refuge hypothesis

Pterygodermatites (Paucipectines) jagerskioldi

Pterygodermatites (Paucipectines) jagerskioldi (Lent & Freitas, 1935) (Figs. 4–6) Females (11 specimens): robust body, white colour, 15.45 mm (11.13–19.78) length and 280 (160–400) width at the oesophageal-intestinal junction. Buccal capsule 35 (26–43) long and 49 (36–62) width. Oral opening 28 (27–29) in diameter, surrounded by 17–18 denticles (Fig. 5B). The oesophageal teeth, more evident, 15 (14–17) long (Fig. 5A). Nerve ring and excretory pore located at 158 (113–202) and 340 (208–472) from anterior end, respectively (Fig. 4). Muscular portion of oesophagus 205 (120–290) long and 44 (39–50) wide; glandular portion 1.87 mm (1.85–1.89) long and 51 (42–60) wide. Two subventral rows with 74 (67–81) cuticular processes (Fig. 6B), 33 (30–36) prevulvar combs (Fig. 4) and 41 (37–45) postvulvar spines, last spine located 364.75 (220.87–508.63) from posterior end (Fig. 6B). Level of transition from combs and spine is anterior to vulvar opening (Fig. 4). The oesophageal-intestinal junction opens at the level of the 42nd (41–43) cuticular projection. Simple vulvar opening, with small transverse cuticular striations situated at 1.83 mm (1.35–2.32) from anterior end, at the level of the 30th (28–32) cuticular projection. The position of the vulva is anterior to the oesophageal-intestinal junction (Fig. 4). Embryonated eggs 36 (34–38) long and 25 (21–29) wide. Conical tail, anus 123 (91–155) from posterior end. Caudal appendix 39 (24–54) long (Fig. 5C). Material examined Host: Myotis sp. (Vespertilionidae). Prevalence and intensity: 15.38% (2 positives of 13 analysed). Parasites found in small intestine. Specimens analysed: Eleven adult females, CHIOC 38701 (MB 19) and CHIOC 38702 (VP 538). Locality: Brazil: Espírito Santo state: Sooretama county: Biological Reserve of Sooretama (18°59’16”S, 40°6’ 28”W); Fundão county: Timbuí (19°56’7”S, 40°24’46”W). Remarks. Pterygodermatites (P.) jagerskioldi was described by Lent & Freitas (1935) from didelphid marsupials, Caluromys philander (L.), from Rio de Janeiro. It was later redescribed by Torres et al. (2007) parasitizing Gracilinanus agilis Burmeister, 1854 in swamplands (Pantanal) from Mato Grosso do Sul and Gracilinanus microtarsus Wagner, 1842, from Rio de Janeiro. Both the original description and the redescription were based only on female specimens. The specimens analysed in our study match the characteristics in the descriptions by Lent & Freitas (1935) and Torres et al. (2007), with a few small differences. According to the descriptions, P. (P.) jagerskioldi presents 16 denticles, whereas the females found in our study presented 17 or 18 denticles. Our specimens match the description regarding the differentiation of the cuticular processes and position of the oesophageal-intestinal junction anterior to the vulva. The number of pre-vulvar processes also corresponds to that observed by Torres et al. (2007), as well as the position of the last cuticular processes, supporting the identification of the parasites as P. (P.) jagerskioldi. This is the first record of this species parasitizing Chiroptera.Published as part of Simões, Mariana Brandão, Moreira, Narcisa Imaculada Brant & Leite, Yuri Luiz Reis, 2019, First record of Pterygodermatites (Pterygodermatites) (Nematoda: Rictulariidae) in South America, with the description of a new species from the Atlantic Forest, southeast Brazil, pp. 96-108 in Zootaxa 4629 (1) on pages 98-99, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4629.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/326831

First record of Pterygodermatites (Pterygodermatites) (Nematoda: Rictulariidae) in South America, with the description of a new species from the Atlantic Forest, southeast Brazil

Simões, Mariana Brandão, Moreira, Narcisa Imaculada Brant, Leite, Yuri Luiz Reis (2019): First record of Pterygodermatites (Pterygodermatites) (Nematoda: Rictulariidae) in South America, with the description of a new species from the Atlantic Forest, southeast Brazil. Zootaxa 4629 (1): 96-108, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4629.1.

FIGURE 9 in First record of Pterygodermatites (Pterygodermatites) (Nematoda: Rictulariidae) in South America, with the description of a new species from the Atlantic Forest, southeast Brazil

FIGURE 9. (A–D) Female Pterygodermatites (Pterygodermatites) atlanticaensis n. sp., under scanning electron micrographs. A. Anterior end showing labial papillae (larger arrow), denticles (small arrow) and hexagonal oral opening. B. Spine-shaped subventral processes. C. Last spine-tail (arrow). D. Anal opening (larger arrow) and caudal appendix (small arrow).Published as part of Simões, Mariana Brandão, Moreira, Narcisa Imaculada Brant & Leite, Yuri Luiz Reis, 2019, First record of Pterygodermatites (Pterygodermatites) (Nematoda: Rictulariidae) in South America, with the description of a new species from the Atlantic Forest, southeast Brazil, pp. 96-108 in Zootaxa 4629 (1) on page 106, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4629.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/326831