A new troglobitic harvestman, Relictopiolus galadriel gen. nov et sp. nov., is described from Olhos d’Água cave, Itacarambi, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Morphological characters, including male genitalia and exomorphology, suggest that this species belongs to the family Kimulidae, and it appears to share the greatest similarities with Tegipiolus pachypus. Bayesian inference analyses of a molecular dataset strongly support the inclusion of this species in Kimulidae and confirm the hypothesized sister-group relationship between R. galadriel and T. pachypus. A time calibrated phylogeny indicates that these sister-taxa diverged from a common ancestor approximately 40 Mya, during the Paleogene. The current range of Kimulidae illustrates a remarkable disjunct distribution, and leads us to hypothesize that the ancestral distribution of Kimulidae was once much more widespread across eastern Brazil. This may be attributed to the Eocene radiation associated with the warming (and humidifying) events in the Cenozoic when the best conditions for evergreen tropical vegetation in South America were established and followed by the extinction of kimulid epigean populations together with the retraction of rain forests during the Oligocene to Miocene cooling. The discovery of this relictual troglobite indicates that the Olhos d’Água cave was a stable refugium for this ancient lineage of kimulids and acted as a "museum" of biodiversity. Our findings, considered collectively with the diverse troglofauna of the Olhos d’Água cave, highlight it as one of the most important hotspots of troglobite diversity and endemism in the Neotropics. Given the ecological stresses on this habitat, the cavernicolous fauna are at risk of extinction and we emphasize the urgent need for appropriate conservation actions. Finally, we propose the transfer of Acanthominua, Euminua, Euminuoides and Pseudominua from Kimulidae to Zalmoxidae, resulting in two new synonymies and 13 new combinations.

BackgroundThe endemic and threatened troglobites (organisms restricted to caves) Charinus eleonorae (Amblypygi) and Iandumoema uai (Opiliones), both from Olhos d’Água cave, located at Peruaçu Caves National Park (southeast Brazil), have their distribution expanded for a new locality inside of the National Park (Lapa do Cipó cave), extending their distribution at least in 9.5km2.New informationThis new data suggest that these arachnids can be in a differentiation process and/or there are several possibilities of dispersion in the karst of Peruaçu. Indeed, a revision of their categorical status at IUCN Red List is necessary. We herein report a new distribution range (Lapa do Cipó cave) of the troglobitic species I. uai and C. eleonorae, which are, to date, known to occur in the Olhos d’Água cave, located at the Peruaçu Caves National Park (PCNP).

Maternal effects are causal influences from mother to offspring beyond genetic information, and have lifelong consequences for multiple traits. Previously, we reported that mice whose mothers did not nurse properly had low birth weight followed by rapid fat accumulation and disturbed development of some organs. That pattern resembles metabolic syndromes known collectively as the thrifty phenotype, which is believed to be an adaptation to a stressful environment which prepares offspring for reduced nutrient supply. The potential link between maternal care, stress reactivity, and the thrifty phenotype, however, has been poorly explored in the human and animal literature: only a couple of studies even mention (much less, test) these concepts under a cohesive framework. Here, we explored this link using mice of the parental inbred strains SM/J and LG/J–who differ dramatically in their maternal care–and the intercrossed generations F1 and F2. We measured individual differences in 15 phenotypes and used structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. We found a remarkable relationship between thrifty phenotype and lower quality of maternal behaviors, including nest building, pup retrieval, grooming/licking, and nursing. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show, in any mammal, a clear connection between the natural variation in thrifty phenotype and maternal care. Both traits in the mother also had a substantial effect on survival rate in the F3 offspring. To our surprise, however, stress reactivity seemed to play no role in our models. Furthermore, the strain of maternal grandmother, but not of paternal grandmother, affected the variation of maternal care in F2 mice, and this effect was mediated by thrifty phenotype in F2. Since F1 animals were all genetically identical, this finding suggests that maternal effects pass down both maternal care and thrifty phenotype in these mice across generations via epigenetic transmission.

Limiting factors of subterranean environments, high relative air humidity and, especially, permanent darkness, represent ecological filters for organisms and biodiversity patterns of surface and subterranean communities display wide disparities. Subterranean diversity and singularity are, thus, better expressed when the common presence of rare and endemic species are considered. Our study aimed to describe the diversity of the cave fauna from 14 caves from Peruaçu Caves National Park (PCNP), eastern Brazil. We analyzed the regional diversity using the index that includes the average taxonomic distinction (TD - Δ +, AvTD). We recorded 1,674 individuals belonging to 10 Classes and 237 morphotypes, 11 troglobitic and two troglomorphic and possible troglobites. Greatest species abundance (N=330) and richness (s=76) were recorded at Lapa do Cipó cave, followed by Gruta Olhos d’Água (N=330, s=71), which shows the highest TD value (Δ + = 90.18) in relation to the others, including the richest Lapa do Cipó (Δ + = 85.24), consequence of the several taxonomic units with large number of species. The below-expected values of TD (Δ + = 87.70) may indicate anthropic impacts on these communities. Our results demonstrate that Gruta Olhos d’ Água and Lapa do Cipó caves are the most important sites for the occurrence of endemic and troglobitic species and may be part of a complex system that should be considered for a more efficient conservation planning.