Serra Das Research Articles

New records of mites (Acari: Spinturnicidae) associated with bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) in two Brazilian biomes: Pantanal and Caatinga.

A first survey of mite species that ectoparasitize bats in the states of Ceará and Mato Grosso was conducted. The specimens of bats and their mites were collected in areas of the Caatinga and Pantanal biomes. A total of 450 spinturnicids representing two genera and ten species was collected from 15 bat species in the Private Reserve of the Natural Patrimony Serra das Almas, Ceará State, Northeast Brazil and 138 spinturnicids represented by two genera and four species were found in seven bats species collected in Private Reserve of the Natural Patrimony Sesc Pantanal, Mato Grosso State, Central-Western Brazil. The occurrence of Cameronieta genus and the species Mesoperiglischrus natali as well as four new associations (Periglischrus iheringi - Chiroderma vizottoi; P. micronycteridis - Micronycteris sanborni; P. paracutisternus - Trachops cirrhosus; Spinturnix americanus - Myotis riparius) are registered for the first time in Brazil.

The herpetofauna of Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões, state of Piauí, Brazil, with a regional species list from an ecotonal area of Cerrado and Caatinga

Abstract Different physiognomies at Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões (PNSCo) were intensively sampled aiming to access the distribution pattern of its herpetofauna. Sixty six species were found in the park (47 reptiles and 19 amphibians); the rarefaction curve for lizards, although not fully stabilized in an asymptote, indicates that the sampling effort was enough to reveal most lizard species occurring in the area; and richness estimators recovered values close to observed. For amphibians, the curve shows a weak tendency to stabilization with richness estimators indicating that additional records could be done. Field work carried out at PNSCo has highlighted an unique herpetofauna: five new species were described and there are three candidates as new species. The regional list including Cerrados's units - Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins (EESGT) and Estação Ecológica de Uruçuí-Una (EEUU) with Caatinga's ones - PNSCo and Parque Nacional da Serra da Capivara (PNSCa), shows a high herpetofaunal diversity (191 species) to the region. The cluster analysis recovered the Cerrados's units and Caatinga's ones, in separate clusters evidencing a species turnover between domains, despite its geographical proximity. Thus, although there is widespread fauna throughout region shared by the units, each reserve holds its own faunal identity, harboring a singular assemblage of species.

Aloe scorpioides; a New Range Extension to the Sierra Das Neves, South-West Angola

Abstract: An new locality for Aloe scorpioides Leach from the Serra das Neves is reported. An amplified description is given, noting differences between the plants at the two localities

First Record of the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) from the Brazilian Caatinga

We present the first documented record of the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) in the Caatinga Biome. We tape-recorded a single individual from the Serra das Confusões National Park in southern Piauí in March 2013. This record represents a range-extension of ~390 km from the nearest site in western Bahia, and highlights the likelihood of further major ornithological discoveries from this region that still remains poorly inventoried.

Geographic Variation in Clutch Size and Reproductive Season of the Dwarf Caiman,Paleosuchus palpebrosus,in Brazil

Abstract We studied nesting of Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman, Paleosuchus palpebrosus, in flooded forest around the Amazon River, and streams draining into the Brazilian Pantanal. Nests were located by searching on foot. Eighty nests were located in the Amazonian sites between 2001 and 2010, and 35 nests were found in the Serra das Araras Ecological Station and streams draining Urucum Mountain on the periphery of the Pantanal between 2006 and 2011. Sizes of embryos indicated that nesting occurs in the Amazonian sites during the dry season and coincides with falling water levels. Although nesting coincides with the warmest and wettest months in the streams around the Pantanal, the streams are not subject to long-term floods. Clutch size varied from eight to 21 eggs, was correlated with female size, and the mean clutch size did not differ between the Amazonian sites and those around the Pantanal.

Some facultative-aquatic conidial fungi from the Caatinga biome II: new records for Brazil and Americas

An inventory of freshwater conidial fungi associated with submerged plant debris was made in five areas included in the Caatinga biome (Brejo Paraibano-PB, APA da Chapada do Araripe and Parque Nacional de Ubajara-CE, Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusoes-PI, and Serra da Jiboia-BA). Eighty-six species were identified. Among them, Corynesporopsis antillana RF Castaneda and WB Kendrick and Oedemium minus (Link) S. Hughes are new records for Brazil, and, Dactylella yunnanensis K. Q. Zhang, Z. Xing Liu and L. Cao, Ellisembia vaginata McKenzie, and Xylomyces pusillus Goh, W. H. Ho, K. D. Hyde and K. M. Tsui are new records for Americas. Fifteen species are recorded for the first time from freshwater habitat. Descriptions, illustrations, commentaries, and geographic distribution are presented for the new records.

“Fazer artesanato para fazer a roça”: práticas sociotécnicas na Comunidade Quilombola da Serra das Viúvas

This article discusses the socio-technical dynamics related to practices carried out in the context of a self-declared Quilombola Community in the Serra das Viuvas, backlands of Alagoas. Such practices are addressed from the inter-relationship of various skills, techniques, stories and symbolic actions of (human and nonhuman) beings that are potentiated through the “engagement” of practical experience and constructed in social interaction. The analysis dialogues with propositions by Tim Ingold, in various theoretical contexts, and emphasizes the relationship of the concepts of nature and culture as inseparable from a field of interactions that relate to specific ways of being, doing and inhabiting the world. The emphasis of ethnographic research contextualizes the narratives of the women who founded the Association of Quilombola Women Artisans (AMAQUI), in the 1990s. The study reveals that the experience of knowing-doing of domestic groups within the community takes shape through everyday practices that point to a knowledge of the local ecosystem, but are permeated by a particular logic of belonging and reciprocity that produces meanings about the territory, in a given historical situation. Keywords: nature, culture, socio-technical practices.

Combined 40Ar/39Ar and (U–Th)/He geochronological constraints on long-term landscape evolution of the Second Paraná Plateau and its ruiniform surface features, Paraná, Brazil

Regional correlation of dated weathered land surfaces provides the necessary constraints to test long-term continental landscape evolution models, but major challenges remain in properly dating these surfaces. The geomorphological province of Second Paraná Plateau, Paraná State, Brazil, is a high elevation (ca. 800m) land surface characterized by widely distributed deep saprolites and scattered lateritic profiles (e.g., Vila Velha and Serra das Almas). Prolonged exposure to weathering and erosion has promoted the pseudo-karstic and ruiniform features that are characteristic of this landscape. In this study, 40Ar/39Ar laser incremental heating geochronology on 22 grains of supergene Mn oxyhydroxides from lateritic profiles at Vila Velha yielded results ranging from 17.2±0.7 to 9.1±0.7Ma. (U–Th)/He geochronology on 28 goethite grains from the same profile yielded results ranging from 36.4±3.6 to 1.0±0.1Ma, with an age cluster lying within the 17.2±0.7 to 7.9±0.8Ma interval. (U–Th)/He geochronology on 17 goethite grains from the Serra das Almas lateritic profile, located 20km from Vila Velha, yield results ranging from 35.1±3.5 to 14.1±1.4Ma. The combined results for the two sites reveal a common weathering history that started ca. 35Ma, suggesting that the Second Paraná Plateau results from regional fluvial incision and denudation before ~35Ma, followed by a decline in denudation rates and proportionally more intense weathering. Consistent with the laterite profile central ages, weathering was particularly intense during the Miocene (17–8Ma). Denudation intensified after the Pliocene.

Taxonomy of “Mouse-colored Tapaculos” (II): An endangered new species from the montane Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, Brazil (Passeriformes: Rhinocryptidae:Scytalopus)

ABSTRACT An isolated population of tapaculos attributed to Scytalopus speluncae has been known from the mountains of southeastern Bahia state, Brazil, since the early 1990s, and a second isolated population was discovered in 1999. Morphological and bioacoustic analyses of 11 specimens and several tape recordings indicated that these populations represent a new species, in agreement with a previous molecular phylogenetic study. This species is unambiguously distinguished from its closest relatives by 4 suites of characters: (1) morphometrics–body proportions, (2) plumage color, (3) vocalizations, and (4) genetics. Using each of these character sets, separately or in combination, one can distinguish with 100% confidence the new species from its sister lineages. The new species is known from only 5 localities distributed in 2 distinct mountain ranges, 1 on the eastern slopes of the Planalto da Conquista, between the municipalities of Boa Nova and Iguai, and another in the Serra das Lontras, ∼100 km to the so...

Construction and destruction of a volcanic island developed inside an oceanic rift: Graciosa Island, Terceira Rift, Azores

There is a great lack of knowledge regarding the evolution of islands inside active oceanic rifts, in particular the meaning of the different evolutionary steps. Therefore, we conducted an investigation in Graciosa Island, which lies at the northwestern end of the Terceira Rift in the Azores Triple Junction, with the objective of constraining the evolution of the island in terms of volcanic growth and mass wasting, in particular the meaning and age of the destruction events.From digital elevation model (DEM) analysis, stratigraphic and tectonic observations, K/Ar dating on key samples, and available bathymetry and gravity data, we propose that Graciosa comprises five main volcanic complexes separated by major unconformities related to large scale mass wasting: (1) The older volcanic edifice (Serra das Fontes Complex) grew until ca. 700ka, and was affected by a major flank collapse towards the southwest, which removed the whole SW flank, the summit and a part of the NE flank. (2) The Baía do Filipe Complex developed between at least 472ka and 433ka in two different ways: in the SW (presently offshore) as a main volcano, and in the NE unconformably over the sub-aerial remnants of the Serra das Fontes Complex, as secondary volcanic edifices. (3) The Baía do Filipe Complex was affected by a major flank collapse towards the SW, again removing most of the edifice. (4) The remnants of the Baía do Filipe Complex were covered in unconformity by the Serra Dormida Complex between ca. 330 and 300ka, which in turn was unconformably covered by the younger Basaltic Cover Complex between ca. 300ka and 214ka. These two units were affected by a third major sector collapse that removed the whole western flank, the summit and part of the eastern flank of the Serra Dormida and Basaltic Cover complexes. (5) Despite the relatively young age of Graciosa, the collapse scars are not well preserved, and not active anymore. (6) A central-type volcano has been growing since at least 60ka at the southeastern end of the island, inside the scar left by a fourth sector collapse towards the SE, which affected most previous complexes. Contemporaneously, parasitic strombolian cones formed all over the island. Despite the location of Graciosa inside the active Terceira Rift, the new data indicate that the evolution of the island has been driven by a competition between volcano growth and repeated destruction by catastrophic sector collapses, rather than by slow incremental faulting associated with the tectonics of the rift.

Mitinha and Tamanduamyia, two new genera of Mythicomyiinae (Diptera, Mythicomyiidae) from northeast Brazil.

Two new genera and two new species of Mythicomyiinae are described based on material collected in Parque Nacional Serra das Confusões, Piauí state, northeast Brazil, an arid region: Mitinha, gen. nov., type-species M. neri, sp. nov. and Tamanduamyia, gen. nov., type-species T. bandeira, sp. nov. An illustrated key is presented for world Mythicomyiinae genera.

Fungos conidiais associados a substratos vegetais submersos em algumas áreas do bioma Caatinga

Os fungos conidiais desempenham importante papel em ecossistemas dulcícolas, sendo responsáveis pela decomposição de matéria orgânica. No bioma Caatinga, contudo, estudos abordando estes fungos ainda são incipientes. Neste estudo realizou-se um levantamento de fungos conidiais aquáticos associados a substratos vegetais submersos em ambientes lóticos, em um período de dois anos, em cinco áreas inseridas neste bioma (Brejo Paraibano-PB, APA da Chapada do Araripe e PARNA de Ubajara-CE, PARNA da Serra das Confusões-PI, Serra da Jibóia-BA). Foram identificadas 90 espécies distribuídas em 62 gêneros. Duas foram classificadas como ingoldianas, duas como aero-aquáticas, e 86 como aquático-facultativas. A área que apresentou o maior número de espécies foi o Brejo Paraibano com 34 espécies, e com o menor número foi a APA da Chapada do Araripe com 20. Quanto aos substratos vegetais, a lâmina foliar apresentou o maior número de espécies, com 63. A similaridade entre as áreas, segundo índice de Sørensen, foi considerada baixa, com valores inferiores a 50%. Os dados contribuem para o conhecimento da biodiversidade de fungos aquáticos no bioma Caatinga.

Epiphytic angiosperms in a mountain forest in southern Bahia, Brazil

The Atlantic Forest in southern Bahia State, Brazil, has high levels of diversity and vascular plant endemism. There have been few floristic surveys of the mountain forests there, however, especially those focusing on herbs and canopy plants, with studies of Atlantic Forest epiphytes having been limited to the southern and southeastern region of that country. The present study therefore surveyed the epiphytic angiosperms in the Serra das Lontras National Park (SLNP), the distribution of their species among genera and families, and their biogeographical patterns. Fieldwork was performed between February 2011 and March 2012. Collections were made along roads and trails and phorophytes were occasionally climbed and fallen trees and branches examined in order to sample canopy species. The study site demonstrated high epiphyte richness (256 spp.), one of the highest recorded in the Atlantic Forest. The richest families are Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae, and Araceae, reaffirming the patterns reported in previous major reviews on epiphytes. The species exhibit high degrees of endemism (45%) to the Atlantic Forest, especially among the Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae. One new occurrence to Brazil, four to the Atlantic Forest and 30 to Bahia state are registered. The SLNP shares more species with areas of southern and southeastern Brazil than with other northeastern states.

Studies on an Enigmatic Blepharidatta Wheeler Population (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Brazilian Caatinga

Blepharidatta is a rare Neotropical ant genus formed by predatory species whose small colonies nest in soil or leaf-litter. A population of Blepharidatta that presents affinities with the Cerrado species, Blepharidatta conops Kempf, was found in the Caatinga biome, at the “Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Serra das Almas” (RPPNSA), in Crateús (State of Ceará, northeastern Brazil). The aim of our study was to obtain information on nest architecture, size and composition of colonies, foraging behavior, and female castes morphology in this newly found population, and to compare it with other Blepharidatta species, particularly B. conops. The results show that Blepharidatta sp. and B. conops share key features of their biology like basic nest architecture, diet and foraging behavior, monogyny, and ergatoid queens with a phragmotic head. However, marked differences were also found in queen head and mesosoma morphology, nest architecture, colony size, and queen location in the nest. Two mutually exclusive hypotheses are discussed. The Blepharidatta population found in the RPPNSA would represent a new species, possibly endemic to the Caatinga biome or this population would represent one extreme of the phenotypic variations observed in populations forming B. conops species.

40Ar/39Ar constraints on the temporal evolution of Graciosa Island, Azores (Portugal)

Lava flows spanning the eruptive record of Graciosa Island (Azores archipelago) and a gabbro xenolith were dated by 40Ar/39Ar in order to constrain the Pleistocene and Holocene volcanic evolution of the island. The results range from 1.05 Ma to 3.9 ka, whereas prior published K–Ar and 14C ages range from 620 to 2 ka. The formation of the Serra das Fontes shield volcano started at minimum 1.05 Ma, and the magmatic system was active for ca. 600 ky, as suggested by the formation of the gabbro xenolith by magmatic differentiation. Evolved magmas making up the Serra das Fontes–Serra Branca composite volcano were generated at ca. 450 ka. After a period of ca. 110 ky of volcanic inactivity and erosion of volcanic edifices, volcanism was reactivated with the formation of the Vitoria Unit NW platform. Later, the development of the Vulcao Central Unit started with the formation of monogenetic cones located to the south of the Serra das Fontes–Serra Branca–Vitoria Unit. This volcanism became progressively more evolved and was concentrated in a main eruptive center, forming the Vulcao Central stratovolcano with an age older than 50 ka. The caldera related to this stratovolcano is older than 47 ka and was followed by effusion of basaltic magmas into the caldera, resulting in the formation of a lava lake, which ultimately spilled over the caldera rim at ca. 11 ka. The most recent eruptions on Graciosa formed two small pyroclastic cones within the caldera and the Pico do Timao cone within the Vitoria Unit at ca 3.9 ka.

A new Crossodactylodes Cochran, 1938 (Anura: Leptodactylidae: Paratelmatobiinae) from the highlands of the Atlantic Forests of southern Bahia, Brazil.

A new Crossodactylodes is described from Serra das Lontras, in the highlands of the Atlantic Forests of southern Bahia. The new species can be distinguished from all other Crossodactylodes by having Finger I ending in an acute tip, a larger body size, by cranial features, and by molecular data. Like their congeners, the new species live in bromeliads but is widely geographically disjunct, being apparently restricted to the summit of a mountain range in Northeastern Brazil.

A fauna de peixes nas bacias do sul do Espírito Santo, Brasil

The South Espírito Santo river basins include the Rio Itapemirim basin, the small river basins in Marataízes and a portion of the Rio Itabapoana basin, in Southeast Brazil. Nighty-two geo-referenced sites were sampled: 23 in Itabapoana, 66 in Itapemirim and three in Marataízes. A species list has been prepared, giving habitat details. Seventy-nine species, in 31 families and 11 orders were, reported, 17 species being from marine or brackish-water/estuarine habitats. The great majority of freshwater species belong to the Siluriformes (29 species), followed by the Characiformes (19). Torrential rivers, protected by the Caparaó mountains, display the lowest richness, with only a few species recorded from the highest valleys. On the other hand, in lowland river valleys along the Serra das Torres, an exceptional diversity of stream fishes was observed. Because of the only known population of Trichogenes claviger, a relictual species of Trichomycteridae, in the river Caxixe, this area is highly strategic in planning conservation of the Icthyofauna of the Itapemirim basin. Some species from southern Espírito Santo were described based on material collected on the historic Thayer Expedition, which crossed the region in 1865. Likewise, Oligosarcus acutirostris, Astyanax microschemos and Trichogenes claviger were also described based on fishes from southern Espírito Santo. A high endemism of freshwater species was observed between southern Espírito Santo rivers and lower Paraíba do Sul, suggesting a common history among these rivers.

Taxonomic status of Mus talpinus Lund (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) from the Quaternary deposits of Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, Brazil and its paleoenvironmental meaning

Abstract Mus talpinus, a fossil sigmodontine rodent exhumated by P. W. Lund from Quaternary deposits in the Lagoa Santa area, Brazil, has been varyingly allocated to the genera Oxymycterus, Blarinomys or Juscelinomys. After our examination of the holotype, an anterior fragment of the skull from Lapa da Serra das Abelhas, Minas Gerais, Brazil, we refer the name talpinus to the genus Brucepattersonius. These mice are sylvan akodontines, widespread in the Atlantic Forest, with the nearest extant record approximately 250 km southeast of Lagoa Santa. The addition of Brucepattersonius to the fossil sigmodontine fauna of Lagoa Santa suggests a non-analogous assemblage of species in this area during the Late Pleistocene.

Use of habitats by non-volant small mammals in Cerrado in Central Brazil

Non-volant small mammals are organisms capable of yielding precise information on richness, abundance and species composition variations related to the use of habitats. The aim of this research was to compare these variations in Cerrado sensu stricto, Palm Forest, Gallery Forest and Rocky Field. From May 1999 to February 2000, we surveyed non-volant small mammals (hence small mammals) in Serra das Araras Ecological Station. We captured 218 individuals and recaptured 62 individuals, belonging to 21 taxa, 13 rodents and eight marsupials, in a total of 13200 trap-nights. Capture success was 1.7%. We observed higher richness of small mammals in forested areas (Gallery Forest and Palm Forest) than in open areas (Rocky Field and Cerrado sensu stricto). The Palm Forest had the highest richness of marsupials, possibly due to the quality of a specific niche. The Rocky Field had the smallest richness, but with very high abundance of few species, mainly Thrichomys pachyurus and Monodelphis domestica. Forest habitats had similar species composition. The open habitats, Cerrado sensu stricto and Rocky Field, had a distinct species composition between them, and also when compared to forested areas. Different species are exclusive or showed preference for specific habitats. The protection of horizontally heterogeneous biomes, such as Cerrado, has a fundamental importance to the maintenance of the regional diversity of the small mammal community of Central Brazil.

As aves da Estação Ecológica Serra das Araras, Mato Grosso, Brasil

O Brasil possui 1.801 espécies de aves e o Cerrado abriga 856 dessas espécies. Esse bioma que cobre 24% do território nacional é a maior, mais distinta, mais rica e, provavelmente mais ameaçada savana tropical do mundo, o que lhe tornou "hot spot" mundial e área prioritária para conservação da biodiversidade. A Estação Ecológica Serra das Araras (EESA) ocupa 28.700 hectares de Cerrado no sudoeste do Mato Grosso, faz parte da Província Serrana, um corredor de serras com cerca de 400 km de comprimento por 40 km de largura, o qual conecta o Cerrado à transição do bioma Amazônico e ao Pantanal. Com o objetivo de inventariar a comunidade de aves da EESA, foi percorrido um transecto de 500 m em cada uma das seguintes fitofisionomias: mata semidecídua, mata ciliar, cerradão, cerrado sentido restrito e parque cerrado. Cada transecto foi amostrado uma vez por mês, de maio de 2006 a dezembro de 2007, durantes quatro horas a partir do nascer e duas horas a partir do por do sol, totalizando 600 horas de amostragem, sendo 80 horas de dia e 40 horas de noite por transecto/hábitat. A lista de aves da ESSA possui 431 espécies de aves, incluindo treze endêmicas do Cerrado e sete nacionalmente ameaçadas de extinção. Dessas, 396 foram registradas durante o esforço amostral, 29 fora do período amostral e seis constam somente na lista de 305 espécies registradas entre 1986 e 1988. Na mata semidecídua foram registradas 150 espécies, na mata ciliar 256, no cerradão 218, no cerrado sentido restrito 206 e no parque cerrado 176 espécies de aves. Quanto à similaridade, formaram-se dois grupos, o das fitofisionomias savânicas (cerrado sentido restrito e parque cerrado) e outro das florestais (mata ciliar, cerradão e mata semidecídua). A riqueza de espécies de aves na EESA é alta quando comparada com outros estudos realizados no Cerrado e provavelmente está relacionada heterogeneidade ambiental presente nessa unidade de conservação, com relevo e vegetação variados. Além de preservar um elevado número, a presença de espécies de aves endêmicas e ameaçadas de extinção reafirmam a importância da EESA para conservação desse grupo.