Ecology and diversity of a lizard community in the semiarid region of Brazil. Biota Neotrop. 13(3): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v13n3/en/ abstract?article+bn04013032013Abstract: Composition, species diversity and resource usage in terms of space and time were evaluated for the lizard community of the Ecological Station of the Seridó (ESEC Seridó), Rio Grande do Norte. An observation area of 150 m × 150 m (2.25 ha) was delimited and surveyed monthly in alternate turns (morning, afternoon and night) for three consecutive days from April to October 2011, covering dry and rainy seasons. Fourteen species belonging to eight families were recorded, being Tropidurus semitaeniatus the most abundant. Seasonality influenced species richness and abundance. Regarding habitat usage, Lygodactylus klugei was the most generalist species, while Phyllopezus periosus, P. pollicaris and T. semitaeniatus were specialists, showing affinity for rocky formations. About microhabitat usage, the most generalist species was T. hispidus and the most specialized was L. klugei . Ten of the recorded species have diurnal habits and four are nocturnal. The space and time usage profiles of the dominant species corroborated data obtained in previous autoecological studies conducted in the same area and suggest a pattern of resource usage by these species in the ESEC Seridó. Resumo: Neste trabalho foram avaliadas a composição, diversidade de espécies e a utilização dos recursos espaço e tempo na comunidade de lagartos da Estação Ecológica do Seridó (ESEC Seridó), Rio Grande do Norte. Para isso, uma área de observação de 150m × 150m (2,25 ha) foi delimitada e percorrida mensalmente em turnos alternados (manhã, tarde e noite) por três dias consecutivos nos meses de abril a outubro de 2011, cobrindo as estações seca e chuvosa. Foram registradas 14 espécies pertencentes a oito famílias, dentre as quais a mais abundante foi Tropidurus semitaeniatus. A sazonalidade influenciou a riqueza e abundância das espécies. Quanto ao uso do hábitat, Lygodactylus klugei foi a espécie mais generalista, enquanto Phylopezus periosus, P. pollicaris e T. semitaeniatus demonstraram especialidade às áreas de formações rochosas. Quanto ao uso de microhábitats, a espécie mais generalista foi T. hispidus e a mais especialista foi L. klugei. Dez das espécies registradas possuem hábito diurno e quatro são noturnas. Os perfis de uso do espaço e do tempo pelas espécies dominantes corroboram dados obtidos em estudos anteriores nesta mesma área e sugerem a existência de padrões na utilização desses recursos por estas espécies na ESEC Seridó. Palavras-chave: caatinga, período de atividade, uso do habitat, uso do micro-habitat, riqueza, sazonalidade. 200 Andrade, M.J.M. et al.

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Abstract. Leishmaniasis can affect humans and animals in visceral or cutaneous forms. The cutaneous form has been associated, among other species, with Lutzomyia wellcomei Fraiha, Shaw & Lainson, initially found in the Amazon region. The present study is based on monthly collections from January to December in an Atlantic Forest remnant and a peridomestic environment, using CDC light traps. This is the first systematized study of the specie in Rio Grande do Norte State. The insects were metalized under carbon tape, visualized and photographed with a scanning electron microscope. The most abundant species in the forest area was Lutzomyia walkeri Newstead followed by L. wellcomei. Of the total captured in the forest and the peridomestic environment, around 8% were L. wellcomei, the predominant species in the forest environment in the rainy season. L. wellcomei sandflies were not captured in the peridomestic environment. In the forest this species was found along with Lutzomyia whitmani Antunes & Coutinho and Lutzomyia intermedia Lutz & Neiva. Male and female Lutzomyia longipalpis Lutz & Neiva were predominant in the peridomestic environment. Microscopic analysis of the external morphology of L. wellcomei reveals details of male and female heads.

Bathymetric distribution and stomach contents of the bigeye flounder captured during November 1995 were analysed. Bathymetric distributional pattern differed among age classes, with younger fish inhabiting shallower waters while older fish occupied all depths sampled. For each sex, the densities were greatest at shallower depths and decreased constantly with depth. Differences in feeding habits with fishing ground, depth and age classes were found. Feeding is characterized by consumption of juvenile squat lobsters Pleuroncodes monodon and Cervimunida johni of 3 mm mean cephalothorax length at 150–300 m depth, and primarily of shrimp Heterocarpus reedi below this range. Young flounders (≤3 years) mainly fed on small prey such as juvenile squat lobsters, whereas flounders >3 years old fed mainly on macrocrustaceans such as H. reedi and to a minor extent on P. monodon and C. johni. Feeding intensity increased with age for each sex, with older females showing a larger food intake rate that was consistent with their higher growth rate in comparison with males.

We provide a new record of Alexandresaurus camacan for the state of Bahia and a distribution map for the species. Alexandresaurus was previously known from seven localities in the state of Bahia, all in the Atlantic Forest Domain. The new record is in the Serra da Jiboia, an enclave of Atlantic Forest in the Caatinga Domain.

The Brazilian Caatinga has already lost extensive areas of original vegetation, thus it becomes imperative to perform fauna inventories within this region to fill geographical sampling gaps. Herein, we present a taxonomic list of the herpetofauna of a mountain chain located in the central zone of Rio Grande do Norte (RN) state whose region includes two priority areas for conservation of the Caatinga: “CA087 – Serra de Santana” in the west, and “CA078 – Nascente do Potengi” in the east. The sampling was carried out using methods of visual searching, pitfall traps with drift fences, specimens rescued during vegetation suppression activities in wind energy projects, occasional encounters, and third-party records. We recorded 19 amphibian species and 53 reptile species (23 lizards, 24 snakes, five amphisbaenians and one chelonian). About half of the recorded species have distributions entirely or mostly in the Caatinga. The mountain range sampled in this study harbors virtually all species found in nearby lowlands of the “sertaneja” depression of RN state, plus some relevant species with relictual distributions in the Caatinga, highlighting the importance of these highland areas for conservation of the Caatinga herpetofauna.

Dryadosaura nordestina is a gymnophthalmid with distribution restricted to Atlantic Forest remnants of northeastern Brazil, from Rio Grande do Norte to Bahia states. This paper aimed to describe the incubation and hatching of eggs in laboratory and provide morphometric characterization of D. nordestina hatchlings. During a fieldwork at Serra da Jiboia, municipality of Santa Teresinha, Bahia state, we collected inside a fallen log two eggs. For the incubation, eggs were kept inside a polyethylene container lined with humus, maintained at room temperature (~25°C), and daily observed. After 13 days of incubation, the eggs hatched, and the measures of the specimens were verified. Besides the individuals from Serra da Jiboia, morphometric measures of five D. nordestina hatchlings previously deposited in the Herpetological Collection of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte were also taken. This paper confirms the clutch size of 1-2 eggs for several gymnophthalmids and it is the first record on incubation and hatchling size for D. nordestina, thus contributing to knowledge on reproductive biology of this species.