DOI: 10.3897/zoologia.38.e64154

Authors: Nathália Del G. da R. Celli, Lúcia M. Almeida, Daniel S. Basílio, Camila F. Castro

Abstract: Among the predatory ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae: Coleoptera), members of the Coccinellini, predators of aphids and psyllids, stand out. Although the beneficial status of these beetles has been acknowledged by biological control researchers, there are no keys or detailed studies on the immature stages of South American Coccinellidae, especially Coccinellini. We provide descriptions and illustrations of the immatures and adults of major predatory Coccinellini species in southern Brazil along with an identification key for fourth instar larvae and pupae. The following species are included: Cycloneda sanguinea (Linnaeus, 1763), Eriopis connexa (Germar, 1824), Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773), Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville, 1842 and Olla v-nigrum (Mulsant, 1866). The morphological study, which included the use of scanning electron microscopy, revealed new characters such as the type of tarsal claws, spiracles, chalazae, parascoli and strumae. The identification key provided here may be useful in biological control programs.

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DOI: 10.3897/zoologia.37.e58960

Authors: Jorge Luiz da Silva, Ricardo José da Silva, Izaias Médice Fernandes, Wesley Oliveira de Sousa, Fernando Zagury Vaz-de-Mello

Abstract: Although dung beetles are important members of ecological communities and indicators of ecosystem quality, species diversity, and how it varies over space and habitat types, remains poorly understood in the Brazilian Cerrado. We compared dung beetle communities among plant formations in the Serra Azul State Park (SASP) in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Sampling (by baited pitfall and flight-interception traps) was carried out in 2012 in the Park in four habitat types: two different savanna formations (typical and open) and two forest formations (seasonally deciduous and gallery). A total of 5,400 individuals collected comprised 57 species in 22 genera. Typical savanna had the greatest species richness and abundance, followed by open savanna and deciduous forest, while the gallery forest had the fewest species but high abundance. Tunnelers (one of three main nesting behavior guilds) showed the greatest richness and abundance (except in the gallery forest, where one dweller species was extremely abundant) in all plant formations. We found that species richness and abundance of the dung beetle community are influenced by differences among plant formations. Habitat heterogeneity in the different plant formations along with anthropic influences (fire, habitat fragmentation) are cited as important factors that explain guild and species richness and distribution patterns. These results emphasize the importance of protected areas, such as SASP, for the maintenance and conservation of species diversity in the Brazilian Cerrado.

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DOI: 10.3897/zoologia.34.e20173

Authors: Carolina Arruda Freire, Leonardo de P. Rios, Eloísa P. Giareta, Giovanna C. Castellano

Abstract: Palaemonid shrimps occur in the tropical and temperate regions of South America and the Indo-Pacific, in brackish/freshwater habitats, and marine coastal areas. They form a clade that recently (i.e., ~30 mya) invaded freshwater, and one included genus, Macrobrachium Bate, 1868, is especially successful in limnic habitats. Adult Macrobrachium acanthurus (Wiegmann, 1836) dwell in coastal freshwaters, have diadromous habit, and need brackish water to develop. Thus, they are widely recognized as euryhaline. Here we test how this species responds to a short-term exposure to increased salinity. We hypothesized that abrupt exposure to high salinity would result in reduced gill ventilation/perfusion and decreased oxygen consumption. Shrimps were subjected to control (0 psu) and experimental salinities (10, 20, 30 psu), for four and eight hours (n = 8 in each group). The water in the experimental containers was saturated with oxygen before the beginning of the experiment; aeration was interrupted before placing the shrimp in the experimental container. Dissolved oxygen (DO), ammonia concentration, and pH were measured from the aquaria water, at the start and end of each experiment. After exposure, the shrimp’s hemolymph was sampled for lactate and osmolality assays. Muscle tissue was sampled for hydration content (Muscle Water Content, MWC). Oxygen consumption was not reduced and hemolymph lactate did not increase with increased salinity. The pH of the water decreased with time, under all conditions. Ammonia excretion decreased with increased salinity. Hemolymph osmolality and MWC remained stable at 10 and 20 psu, but osmolality increased (~50%) and MWC decreased (~4%) at 30 psu. The expected reduction in oxygen consumption was not observed. This shrimp is able to tolerate significant changes in water salt concentrations for a few hours by keeping its metabolism in aerobic mode, and putatively shutting down branchial salt uptake to avoid massive salt load, thus remaining strongly hyposmotic. Aerobic metabolism may be involved in the maintainance of cell volume, concomitant with reduced protein/aminoacid catabolism upon increase in salinity. More studies should be conducted to broaden our knowledge on palaemonid hyporegulation.

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DOI: 10.3897/zoologia.34.e19866

Authors: Julissa M. Churata-Salcedo, Lúcia Massutti de Almeida

Abstract: Coeliaria Mulsant, 1850 is revised based on the external morphology and genitalia of the adults and is distinguished from the other Chnoodini by the following characters: dorsal surface pubescent; antenna 11-segmented; hypomera with rounded fovea; tibia flat and angulated; abdominal postcoxal line incomplete, recurved and with oblique line. A new species, Coeliaria castanea sp. nov., from Brazil, and two new combinations, are proposed: Coeliaria bernardinensis comb. nov. and C. luteicornis comb. nov., expanding the distribution of the genus to Bolivia and Paraguay.

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DOI: 10.3897/zoologia.34.e19990

Authors: Sergio Aloquio, Cristiano Lopes-Andrade

Abstract: Lelegeis Champion, 1886 occurs only in the Neotropical region and comprises four species: L. aeneipennis Champion, 1886 from Mexico; L. apicalis Laporte & Brullé, 1831 from Cuba; L. hispaniolae Triplehorn, 1962 from Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and L. nigrifrons (Chevrolat, 1878) occurring in Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. Here, Lelegeis pytanga sp. nov. is described based on specimens collected in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, and the first detailed description of the sclerites of the male and female terminalia of Lelegeis is produced. The new species can be easily distinguished from the other Lelegeis by its dull reddish brown to reddish orange elytral coloration, while the remaining body surface is dull black. The morphology of Lelegeis and its generic boundaries within Diaperinae are discussed.

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DOI: 10.3897/zoologia.34.e13730

Authors: Igor Souza-Gonçalves, Cristiano Lopes-Andrade

Abstract: Xylographellini beetles occur mainly in lands of the Southern Hemisphere. However, the taxonomy of Australian and Oriental species is incipient. The tribe comprises four genera, of which Scolytocis Blair, 1928 and Xylographella Miyatake, 1985 were recently redescribed and reported from Australia but without descriptions of new species. Here, three new species of Xylographellini are described: Scolytocis australimontensis sp. n. from Australia, with smooth interspaces of pronotal punctures; Scolytocis insularis sp. n. from the Pohnpei Island (Caroline Islands, Micronesia), with microstriated interspaces of pronotal punctures; and Xylographella frithae sp. n. from Australia, with six raised keels in elytral declivity. Scolytocis samoensis Blair, 1928, type species of the genus, is recorded from Guam (Mariana Islands, Micronesia) and redescribed. Keys for the Scolytocis and Xylographella occurring in the Australian and Oriental regions are also provided.

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DOI: 10.3897/zoologia.34.e11996

Authors: Diego de S. Souza, Marcela L. Monné, Luciane Marinoni

Abstract: Ateralphus Restello, Iannuzzi & Marinoni, 2001 is a Neotropical genus of longhorn beetles composed of nine species. This genus was proposed from splitting Alphus White, 1855 into other two genera: Ateralphus and Exalphus Restello, Iannuzzi & Marinoni, 2001. Even though Ateralphus (nine species), Alphus (four) and Exalphus (18) were recently revised, their validity has not been tested using phylogenetic methods. In this study, we carried out a cladistic analysis of Ateralphus and its related genera, Alphus and Exalphus, based on 44 morphological characters of the adults, to test their monophyly and infer the relationships between their species. Our results support the monophyly of the three genera and recovered two clades that corroborate the species-groups previously recognized in Ateralphus. A new genus, Grandateralphus gen. n., is proposed for one of these clades, which is supported by three synapomorphies: width of upper ocular lobes less than width between the lobe and the coronal suture (character state 6: 0), genae parallel in frontal view (8: 1) and scape gradually expanded toward apex, reaching widest diameter just near apex (9: 2). Grandateralphus gen. n. includes three new combinations: G. lacteus (Galileo & Martins, 2006), comb. n.; G. tumidus (Souza & Monné, 2013), comb. n.; and G. variegatus (Mendes, 1938), comb. n. Notes on the distribution of G. variegatus comb. n. and a new record of E. cicatricornis Schmid, 2014 for Bolivia (Santa Cruz) are provided.

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