Population declines have previously been reported for at least 31 amphibian species in Brazil, in the families Leptodactylidae (19), Hylidae (7), Centrolenidae (2), Dendrobatidae (2), and Bufonidae (1). In five Brazilian museum collections, we found no entries of new records dating back to at least 15 yr ago for 13 of these species. We suggest that these taxa be studied in more detail to verify their status and to generate basic ecological data. Museum data indicate that the remaining species have been recently found in areas of reported crashes, or elsewhere. Several apparent declines in Brazil can be associated with habitat loss, interspecific interactions, natural fluctuations, or lack of intensive sampling. Personal observations and field data also indicate possible declines in the states of Paraná and Ceará as well as in highlands within the Cerrado biome, in the state of Minas Gerais. Records suggest declines of montane and stream‐associated populations of Brazilian amphibians in apparently pristine habitats. Field work is necessary to confirm these cases and to examine whether factors associated with similar extinctions in other parts of the globe—such as pathogens and climate change—are also related to local disappearances. To clarify pending questions and perhaps circumvent new cases, it is important to invest in short‐ and long‐term field studies, and in the maintenance and expansion of museum collections.

We studied a snake assemblage from

Snakes, since the dawn of humanity, makepart of an amount of legendary histories and mythes of the whole world because of their true capability in increasing thepopular imaginary. In Brazil, in almost all areas, there is an abundant folklore about these animals. An ethnographic surveyabout the beliefs and the respective scientific considerations involving snakes in Ceará State, northeastern Brazil, werecarried out between 2008 and 2010. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with selected ‘local experts’ in themunicipalities of Aratuba, Pacoti and Mulungu (mountain region); Itapajé, Irauçuba and Tururu (semi-arid region) and SãoGonçalo do Amarante and Caucaia (coastal area). In the study areas, there is a local differentiation between ‘snakes withand without venom’, although even the majority of snakes considered venomous by the locals are not lethal to humans.The interviewees indicated a preference in the use of snake anti-venum in case of snake bites, however, they alsoconsidered that home remedies were effective. For certain specific snakes, we described the folklore characterized byassimilation of morphological, physiological and ecological features, the majority of which are not corroborated by thezoological literature. This is probably because the sense of fear makes it difficult to promote folklore in a manner that ismore consistent with scientific knowledge. The conflicting relationship between humans and snakes has led to a commonlaw justification for the indiscriminate hunting of these animals causing serious environmental and health problems thatcan only be addressed through public policies directed towards environmental education, and the prevention and treatmentof snakebites.

No abstract

is a family of Gymnophiona, which includes the aquatic and semiaquatic caecilians of South America (Taylor 1968). There are five recognized genera up till now, for which Chthonerpeton Peters, 1880 is the most speciose, with eight known species (Wilkinson and Nussbaum 2006). Chthonerpeton arii Cascon and Lima-Verde, 1994 was described based on 60 specimens collected in the municipality of Limoeiro do Norte, state of Ceará, northeastern Brazil. Here, we report the first records of this species out of the type locality, in the state of Bahia and in its border with the state of Pernambuco, in the São Francisco river (Figure 1). We found three specimens of C. arii in two Brazilian herpetological collections. One male specimen in the Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, state of Ceará (UFC A2465; 282 mm total length; collected by J. S. Lima-Verde; September 1988) from the hydroelectric of Itaparica (current hydroelectric of Luiz Gonzaga), on the border between the states of Pernambuco and Bahia; and two female specimens in the Herpetological collection of the Museu de História Natural of Universidade Federal de Alagoas (MUFAL), Maceió, state of Alagoas (MUFAL 8363-64; respectively, 385 mm and 457 mm total length, Figure 2; collected by CHESF officials; July 1982) from a fish breeding station in the municipality of Paulo Afonso, state of Bahia. These two new localities are approximately 30 km apart from each other, and 440 km and 470 km, respectively, from the type locality. The species identification was made by comparison to the type series. Specimens from Paulo Afonso are more robust than the other known specimens of C. arii but we do not have an explanation about, since we have few specimens from it locality to test geographic variation. Chthonerpeton arii is the species in the genus with the most septentrional Abstract: Chthonerpeton arii was described from a large series of specimens from Limoeiro do Norte municipality, state of Ceará, Brazil. Here we provide the first records of the species out of the type locality, in the state of Bahia, and in its border with the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. We also provide color photographs of a preserved specimen.

Aplicativos móveis educacionais podem contribuir na maneira de transmitir e receberinformações. Assim, o objetivo desse artigo foi realizar uma revisão sistemática de literatura(RSL) a partir de estudos empíricos que abordaram o uso de aplicativos no ensino de biologia.Para isso, delimitaram-se questões primárias e secundárias de pesquisa, bases de dados parabuscas, elaboração de string e dos critérios de inclusão e exclusão de trabalhos relacionados àtemática. Nove trabalhos foram escolhidos, sendo 66,6% provenientes da região nordeste.Apenas um foi desenvolvido no ensino fundamental e os conteúdos mais abordados foram acitologia e a botânica. Evidencia-se que todos os aplicativos utilizados são compatíveis comsistema Android e a coleta de dados pelos autores foi realizada sobretudo com questionários. Obenefício do uso de aplicativos mais citados pelos trabalhos foi a promoção do protagonismodo estudante, enquanto a ausência de conexão com a internet foi a adversidade mais relatada.

No abstract

None