16.9 km 2 is the main island (Lopes and Ulbrich, 2015), and the remaining area is distributed among 20 smaller islands, of which Rata Island is the largest with 0.8 km 2. The archipelago has suffered major ecological disturbances due to several human interventions. In 1737, fortifications were built, and the archipelago was transformed into a penal colony for almost 200 years. During this period, a large part of the native vegetation was devastated while exotic plants and animals were introduced to serve as food (Teixeira et al., 2003; Serafini et al., 2010). The human population in the archipelago increased significantly in 1942 through military occupation (i.e., World War II). Afterwards, significant changes were observed in the archipelago due to: • Several insecticide applications campaigns (i.e., DDT) for mosquito-control; • Wild animal introductions, such as the Teju lizard (Salvator merianae Duméril & Bibron) and the Mocó cavy (Kerodon rupestris Wied-Neuwied); • Release of birds seized in trade fairs and public markets of Recife (i.e., Saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola (Linnaeus)), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus (Linnaeus)), and the White-bellied seedeater (Sporophila leucoptera (Vieillot));
Two Neotropical genera of Mecoptera (Thyridates Navás, 1908, Neobittacus Esben–Petersen, 1914 n. syn.) are synonymized under Bittacus Latreille, 1805. The following are new combinations: Bittacus aripuanaensis (Penny, 1977) n. comb., B. brunnipenis (Collucci & Amorim, 2000) n. comb., B. froehlichi (Collucci & Amorim, 2000) n. comb., B. latreillei (Collucci & Amorim, 2000) n. comb., B. novokschonovi (Petrulevičius, 2003) n. comb. and B. willmanni (Collucci & Amorim, 2001) n. comb.. A pictorial key to Neotropical families and genera and a checklist of Neotropical species are presented.
The genus Ctenostylum Macquart, 1851 was known only from two male specimens, one from Brazil and one from Costa Rica. Ctenostylum fuscomaculatum n. sp., is described based in one female specimen collected in the Amazon Basin, the third specimen known. The diagnosis of the genus Ctenostylum is redefined and its relationships with other ctenostylid genera are discussed.
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