An annotated checklist of freshwater copepoda (crustacea, hexanauplia) from continental Ecuador and the Galapagos archipelago

An annotated checklist of the free-living freshwater Copepoda recorded in different regions in Ecuador (including the Amazon, the Andes, the coastal region, and the Galapagos Islands) is here provided. We revised all published records, critically evaluated the validity of each taxon and provided short taxonomic and biogeographical remarks for each one. A total of 27 taxa have been reported, including species and records at the generic level only. The species and taxa identified only up to the generic level belong to five families and 14 genera. The Cyclopoida is the most diverse group with 16 records belonging to species (or identified to the generic level only) and eight genera, followed by the Harpacticoida with six species, one identification to the generic level only, and four genera, and Calanoida with four species belonging to two genera. A total of 18 taxa are recorded for the Andes. Six have been recorded in the Amazon, two are recorded for the coastal region, and six for the Galapagos. One species is shared between the Amazon and the Andes. One species is shared between the coastal region and the Amazon. Seventeen are only reported from the Andes and four are only reported from the Amazon. At the current status of the knowledge, any attempt to analyze and generalize distributional patterns of copepods in Ecuador is premature due to the scarcity of available information, and evidently there is an urgent need for more extensive field collections. A few working hypothesis for future studies are identified

Rapid ecological assessment of wasp fauna (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) of the Serra do Divisor National Park, Acre, Brazil

O Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor (PNSD), localizado a noroeste do Estado do Acre, é considerado uma das áreas de maior diversidade da Amazônia. A importância de se considerar insetos em programas de conservação tem sido muito enfatizada. Vespas solitárias e sociais são componentes muito importantes dos ecossistemas, devido à posição que ocupam nas redes alimentares. Esse trabalho teve como objetivo realizar uma avaliação ecológica rápida da fauna de vespas do PNSD, para subsidiar a elaboração de um plano de manejo do referido parque. A amostragem foi realizada em 12 sítios de coleta, situados no interior de oito tipologias de vegetação. Os insetos foram coletados através de armadilhas Malaise, as quais foram expostas em todos os sítios por 24 horas, totalizando 288 horas de amostragem. Foram consideradas nas análises vespas das famílias Chalcididae, Eucharitidae, Evaniidae, Mutillidae, Pompilidae, Crabronidae e Vespidae. Ao todo, foram coletados 366 indivíduos distribuídos em 40 gêneros e 85 espécies. Os gêneros Ephuta (Mutillidae), Trypoxylon (Crabronidae) e Conura (Chalcididae) foram os mais ricos em espécies. Os sítios localizados na região norte do PNSD, considerada zona intangível e zona primitiva, foram os mais ricos em espécies. Cerca de 65% das espécies foram exclusivas a um único sítio, o que significa que as amostras possuem pequena similaridade faunística. Algumas espécies coletadas são consideradas raras.The Serra do Divisor National Park (PNSD), located at the northwest of Acre State, Amazonia, is considered an area of great biodiversity. The question of considering insects in conservation programs. Solitary and social wasps are important components of the terrestrial ecosystems due to their position in trophic webs. The present study aimed at making a rapid ecological assessment of the wasps from the PNSD in order to support the elaboration of a conservation and management plan for that park. The insects were sampled in 12 sites located in eight forest types by Malaise traps that operated in each for 24 hours, totaling 288 hours of sampling. The results on the families Chalcididae, Eucharitidae, Evaniidae, Mutillidae, Pompilidae, Crabronidae and Vespidae are presented here. On the whole, 366 wasps were collected representing 40 genera and 85 species. The genera Ephuta (Mutillidae), Trypoxylon (Crabronidae) and Conura (Chalcididae) were the most specious. The sites situated at the northern region of the PNSD, the intangible and primitive zones, were the most species rich. Some collected species were considered rare and about 65% of species were exclusive to only one site. This means that the samples have little faunal similarity.Fundação S.O.S

State of the art of the meiofauna of Brazilian Sandy Beaches

Abstract In Brazil, meiofauna studies began in the middle of last century, but they adopted a purely taxonomical approach, describing species from various zoological groups. After this first step, this benthic group was largely neglected until the end of the 20th century when ecological studies began. We here provide a brief review of present knowledge of the meiofauna found on Brazilian sandy beaches to provide information for ReBentos (Coastal Benthic Habitats Monitoring Network). Our methodology consisted of a bibliographic survey undertaken using different datasets (Web of ScienceTM, SCOPUS, Google Scholar and Lattes Plataform). For the survey, we considered only those studies published till early 2015. Our analysis showed that the number of meiofauna studies has increased over the last two decades, though they are mainly still concentrated on the Southeast of Brazil. These studies aim to explain the distribution pattern of the meiofauna of the intertidal region of sandy beaches. Based on the results, we presented a discussion of three main topics, i.e., (a) current knowledge of Brazilian sandy beach meiofauna, (b) sampling strategies for monitoring of the meiofauna, and (c) use of the meiofauna as a tool to assess climate change. We trust that this brief review will be useful as a starting point for the delineation of further climate change investigations into sandy beach meiofauna

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

Ameiridae Boeck and Argestidae Por revisited, with establishment of Parameiropsidae, a new family of Harpacticoida (Crustacea, Copepoda) from deep-sea sediments

International audienceFour new species of are described from Angola and Guinea Basins and the Arctic Laptev Sea. The male of sp. n. differs from that of sp. n. and sp. n. in antennule segmentation, length of the proximal aesthetasc, length of the outermost seta of the antennary endopod, degree of reduction of the mouthparts, relative length of the inner spine of the basis of thoracopod 1, shape of the furca and body length. The female of sp. n. differs from previously described females of other species in the smaller exopod and endpod of thoracopod 1, reduced armature of thoracopods 1–6, length of the outer setae of exopods and endopods of thoracopods 2–4, and mandible exopod weakly developed and fused to the basis. is redefined by the following autapomorphies: presence of aesthetasc on 3rd segment of female antennule; antenna strong, with endopod curved upwardly, and shape of the outermost (strongly ornamented) spine; triangular labrum; elongated corpus mandibularis, gnathobasis very long; basis of mandibular palp unarmed; elongated maxillule, with long and flexible setae on praecoxal arthrite; basis of the maxilla with strongly modified claw. To discuss the phylogenetic position of , we revaluated the subfamilies of Ameiridae (viz. Ameirinae and Stenocopiinae) and the family Argestidae. and revealed to be not closely related to Ameiridae and are transferred to Argestidae, sharing with other members of this family the morphology of the mandible gnathobasis, armature of maxilla and armature and length of the first segment of the antennule. does not show any of the characters that we consider autapomorphic for Argestidae. Instead, it shows many characters in common with several Ameiridae species. does not have any character that could justify its inclusion within Ameiridae or even within Podogennonta. It also cannot be included satisfactorily within Argestidae nor Exanechentera. Therefore, we here propose a new family for , with unclear relationships within Harpacticoida. After these taxonomic rearrangements, Ameiridae and Argestidae are considered monophyletic based on certain maxilla characters that we consider autapomorphic for each group. A key to the identification of the known species of is added at the end