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Records of snakes are common in fauna road-kill monitoring studies in different Brazilian regions. To determine the intentionality of snake road-killing on a Brazilian road, the following hypotheses were tested: (1) more fake snakes are intentionally killed on the road than objects not similar to snakes; (2) the time elapsed until the first intentional fake snake road-kill is less than that for dissimilar objects; (3) the proportion of intentional collisions with fake snakes does not depend on the type of vehicle; (4) objects positioned in the center of the road are more frequently road-killed than those positioned on the roadside; (5) variation in the number of intentional road-kills is linked to variation of vehicular traffic. Fake snakes and PET bottles were placed in different positions on the MG-010 road (Minas Gerais State), and monitored for 96 hours by cameras that recorded the movement of vehicles on the lane. The numbers of intentional snake road-kills and control objects presented no differences, and the time elapsed until the first intentional road-kills was also similar. Cars and trucks are the vehicle categories with highest incidence of collisions. Objects were struck more often when positioned in the center of the road. This study proves that intentional road-killing occurs and that any small object on the road is subject to being struck by a moving vehicle. This behavior by some drivers on Brazilian roads may pose a threat to the conservation of species that venture onto these roads.Keywords: wildlife-vehicle collisions; reptile conservation; human behavior; road ecology Resumo Registros de serpentes são recorrentes em trabalhos de monitoramento de fauna atropelada em diferentes regiões brasileiras. A fim de verificar se atropelamentos de serpentes em rodovias brasileiras ocorrem de maneira intencional, o presente estudo testou as seguintes hipóteses: (1) o número de atropelamentos intencionais de moldes de serpentes é maior do que o de atropelamentos intencionais de objetos não assemelhados com serpentes; (2) o tempo decorrido até o primeiro atropelamento intencional dos moldes de serpentes é menor do que de objetos não assemelhados; (3) a proporção de atropelamentos intencionais dos moldes de serpentes independe da categoria do veículo; (4) objetos posicionados no centro da rodovia são atropelados intencionalmente com maior frequência do que quando comparados aos posicionados nas margens; (5) a variação do número de atropelamentos intencionais está atrelada a variação do tráfego de veículos. Moldes de serpentes e garrafas pet foram dispostos em diferentes posições na rodovia MG-010 (Minas Gerais), e monitorados durante 96 horas, através de câmeras fotográficas que registraram o movimento dos veículos na pista. O número de atropelamentos intencionais de serpentes e objetos controle não apresentou diferença, assim como o tempo decorrido até o primeiro atropelamento intencional. Carros e caminhões constituem as categorias de veículos com maior incidência de atropelamento intencional. Quan...

Spelaeobochica iuiu sp. n. is described from Lapa do Baixao limestone cave in the municipality of luiu (Bahia, Brazil). It is easily distinguished from the two other species of the genus, S. allodentatus Mahnert 2001 and S. muchmorei Andrade & Mahnert 2003, by its pedipalpal measurements and proportions, but particularly by the presence of tooth-like protuberances on the pedipalpal segments. It is considered a troglobitic species.

Abstract:Avian predators may represent an important selective pressure favouring the evolution of aposematic colouration in millipedes that present chemical defences. However, the role of their warning colouration in predator avoidance remains poorly explored under field conditions, especially in Neotropical forests. Thus, to evaluate the hypothesis of the predator avoidance, we conducted a factorial experiment utilizing artificial replicas of millipedes constructed from plasticine and placed in the natural habitat of Odontopeltis aleijadinho (Polydesmida, Chelodesmidae), an Atlantic Forest endemic aposematic millipede. We assessed patterns of attack to aposematic and non-aposematic replicas applied with repugnant fluid extracted from living millipedes and two control treatments, distributed as a total of 300 replicas exposed for 48 h on the forest floor. The average percentage of replicas attacked was nearly 10-fold higher on those non-aposematic control replicas (13.3% ± 3.3%) than on aposematic replicas (1.3% ± 0.9%). In 24 replicas attacked by avian predators, no effect of millipede repugnant fluid was found, but the effect of colouration pattern was statistically significant. Our data support the hypothesis that a warning colouration pattern involving yellow spots symmetrically distributed along the millipede body can mediate avian predator avoidance.

In the present study we examined surface and subterranean sites in order to compare the fish fauna composition and characteristics of the physical habitat in a stream located in a Neotropical karst landscape at the São Francisco River basin, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. We investigated the effects of physical habitat characteristics related to river morphology, substrate composition, wood and canopy cover on the fish community and investigated whether subterranean habitats have additional effects responsible for shaping the fish community structure. During the sampling period (dry season; July 2012), 28 species distributed in 3 orders and 9 families were collected (773 individuals in total). Characiformes was the most diverse group in the studied area, with 16 registered species (57% of the sampled fauna). We did not find cave-adapted fish species during the study, although four non-troglomorphic species (two Characiformes and two Siluriformes) were sampled exclusively in the cave. The species composition was possibly affected by environmental differences, showing distinct patterns between the five sites studied. Canopy cover and the percentage of organic matter on the streambed accounted for most of the variation observed in the fish fauna composition (distance-based linear matrix: adjusted R2=0.56; P=0.02). In the system studied, Siluriformes have a greater chance of occupying subterranean habitats, with higher relative abundance and richness inside the cave sites. We believe that number, size and position of subterranean spaces within a karst watershed have additional effects on fish community composition through their selective pressure on species traits.

Parasitic plants constitute an interesting study template for several botanical and ecological in the studies. In Brazil, about 100 species of Loranthaceae have been described, among which several in the genus Struthanthus, aerial hemiparasites characterized by an haustorial root system. We evaluated the host specificity of S. flexicaulis Mart. in a 9-ha area of high-altitude ironstone fields in the “Iron Quadrangle”, MG. The plant community develops over canga couraçada, a compact substrate rich in heavy metals, with low levels of moisture and organic matter. Of the 85 vascular plant species that occur in the area, 44, distributed among 19 families, are parasitized by S. flexicaulis, and one is used only as support. Phanerophytes were the most common host life-form. The lack of specificity is common to other Loranthaceae, and appropriate for a resource-heterogeneous environment, where host specificity would not be advantageous. Keywords: host-parasite interaction, ironstone fields, Ironstone Quadrangle, canga, mistletoe.