O litoral do Nordeste do Brasil como objeto científico darwinista: as prospecções de John Casper Branner, 1899-1911

Abstract

John Casper Branner, geólogo norte-americano, desenvolveu uma longa história de investigação no Brasil. Analisa-se, aqui, como ele tratou a geologia do litoral do Nordeste na Branner-Agassiz Expedition (1899) e na Stanford Expedition (1911). As expedições indicam como a geomorfologia das bacias sedimentares, dos recifes de arenito e dos recifes de corais foi caracterizada sob uma perspectiva evolutiva darwinista. Branner integrou o modelo de pesquisa de campo da história natural com as práticas da biologia moderna e da geologia dinâmica, e interpretou a evolução da formação geológica a partir dos fatores físico-químicos. Os estudos zoológicos identificaram o lugar da variação e das adaptações evolutivas das espécies marinhas isoladas como fator auxiliar da seleção natural.

The bees of the genus Centris Fabricius, 1804 described by Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

“…The journey was coordinated by the American geologist and botanist John Casper Branner and had as members, among others, Fred Baker , a malacologist of the San Diego Society of Natural History, and the student of zoology William Mann . Both Baker and Mann assisted in the work of the field trip (Oliveira 2014). According to Oliveira (2014)…”

“…Both Baker and Mann assisted in the work of the field trip (Oliveira 2014). According to Oliveira (2014)…”

The species of the bee genus Centris of the “hyptidis group” revisited with the description of Centris (Anisoctenodes) new subgenus (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Centridini)

“…Cockerell described Centris (Ptilotopus) libertatis based on a single female collected at "Independencia", Paraíba state, northeastern Brazil by Harold Heath (1868-1951) and William Mann (1886-1960, both members of the Stanford Expedition (Oliveira 2014). The type specimen is currently housed at AMNH, the label is quoted verbatim.…”

Clarifying the type locality of Liotyphlops wilderi (Garman, 1883) (Serpentes, Anomalepididae), with comments on other reptiles from São Cyriaco, Minas Gerais

“…He returned to his home country in 1880, but a few months later came back to Brazil, employed by the inventor Thomas A. Edison to search for a vegetable fiber to strengthen incandescent lights (Penrose 1925). In 1882, working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Branner traveled to study the insects affecting cotton and sugar cane cultures in Brazil (Penrose 1925;Oliveira 2014).…”

“…In 1899, as a professor at Stanford University, Branner returned to Brazil with collaborators for the 'Branner-Agassiz Expedition', funded by Alexander Agassiz (son of Louis Agassiz), to study the geology of ocean reefs, atolls, and volcanic islands, besides zoology (particularly ichthyology) traveling along the coast of Rio Grande do Norte and Bahia states (northeastern Brazil) and visiting islands such as the Fernando de Noronha archipelago (Penrose 1925;Oliveira 2014). Another visit occurred in 1907 to study the black diamonds districts of Bahia and the geology of Alagoas and Sergipe states, also in northeastern Brazil (Penrose 1925).…”