Sciency Thoughts: Goiás State

Showing posts with label Goiás State. Show all posts

Wednesday, 16 May 2018

Poeciloderrhis spp.: Six new species of Giant Cockroaches from Brazil.

Giant Cockroaches, Blaberidae, are generally large Cockroaches, reaching between 10 and 60 mm, with spines on their middle and rear legs. There are about 660 known species from across the globe, many of which give birth to live young.

In a paper published in the jounrnal Zoologia on 22 March 2018, Leonardo de Oliveira Cardoso da Silva and Sonia Maria Lopes of the Department of Entomology at the Museu Nacional of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, describe six new species of Giant Cockroaches from Brazil, all of which are placed in the genus Poeciloderrhis.

The first new species described is named Poeciloderrhis aureolatus, in reference to their yellow-brown colour. The species is described from nineteen male and ten female specimens, collected in Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais states. The females are on average larger than the males, though the largest specimens of both sexes are about the same size, with females reaching 45.4-45.7 mm in length, compared to 41.6-45.7 mm in the males. These Cockroaches have triangular heads with black eyes and robust spines on all legs.

Poeciloderrhis aureolatus, male (top) and female (bottom). Scale bars 5.6 mm (top) and 6.0 mm (bottom). Silva & Lopes (2018).

The second new species is named Poeciloderrhis mediansclerostylatus, meaning 'stylus shaped median sclerite' in reference to a detail of the male genitalia. This species is described from a single male specimen collected in Rio de Janeiro State. This is 30 mm in length and shiny brown in colour, with a triangular head, dark brown eyes and strong spines on all legs.

Poeciloderrhis mediansclerostylatus, male specimen. Scale bar is 5.6 mm. Silva & Lopes (2018).

The third new species is named Poeciloderrhis diamantinensis, in reference to the municipality of Diamantino in Mato Grosso State, where this species was first discovered. The species is described from twelve male specimens from Mato Grosso, Rondônia and Goiás states. These range from 22.1 to 24.5 mm in length and are a shiny light brown colour with triangular heads, dark brown eyes, and strong spines on all legs.

Poeciloderrhis diamantinensis, male specimen. Scale bar is 3.4 mm. Silva & Lopes (2018).

The fourth new species is named Poeciloderrhis itatiaiensis, in reference to the Parque Nacional de Itatiaia, in Rio de Janeiro State, where the species was discovered. The species is described from a single male specimen, light brown in colour and 48.9 mm in length, with black eyes, a triangular head and spines on all legs.

Poeciloderrhis itatiaiensis, male specimen. Scale bar is 6.7 mm. Silva & Lopes (2018).

The fifth new species described is named Poeciloderrhis vanzolinii, in honour of herpetologist Paulo Emilio Vanzolini, who collected the specimen from which the species is described, a male from São Paulo State. This specimen is 27.5 mm in length, and shiny light brown in colour with dark brown eyes, a triangular head and strong spines on all legs.

Poeciloderrhis vanzolinii, male specimen. Scale bar is 3.5 mm. Silva & Lopes (2018).

The final new species described is named Poeciloderrhis penduloides, meaning 'pendulum shaped; in reference to the male genetalia. This species is described from a single male specimen collected in Rio de Janeiro State. This specimen is 26.9 mm in length and shiny light brown in colour, with brown eyes, a triangular head and spines on all limbs.

Poeciloderrhis penduloides, male specimen. Scale bar is 4.7 mm. Silva & Lopes (2018).

Friday, 29 December 2017

Dolichothele mottai & Dolichothele camargorum: Two new species of Tarantula from Brazil and Bolivia.

Tarantulas, Theraphosidae, are large and usually hairy Mygalomorph Spiders, the group that also includes Trapdoor and Baboon Spiders, and which is noted for features such as non-oposable fangs and only having two pairs of book-lungs. Most Tarantula species are found in the Americas, and while members of this group are found on every continent, most Old World species referred to as 'Tarantulas' are in fact large members of other groups, usually other Mygalomorphs or Wolf Spiders. Tarantulas seldom bite defensively, instead defending themselves with a dense covering of irritating 'urticating hairs' on their abdomens, which can be loosed by brushing with the hind legs and wafted at potential predators, causing irritation to the eyes and nose.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 21 December 2017, Irene Soliz Revollo of the Instituto de Biociências at the Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, and the Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução at the Instituto Butantan, Pedro Ismael da Silva Júnior of the Laboratório Especial de Toxinologia Aplicada, also at the Instituto Butantan, and Rogério Bertani, again of the Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução at the Instituto Butantan, describe two new species of Tarantula from Brazil, both of which are placed in the ground-dwelling genus Dolichothele.

The first new species described is named Dolichothele mottai, in honour of the arachnologist Paulo Cesar Motta, for his work on the Mygalomorph Spiders of the Brazilian Cerrado. The species is described from two specimens, a female with a body length of 9.4 cm and a male with a body length of 8.1 cm. Both sexes are covered in iridescent red hairs. The species was found in Cerrado (savanna) environments in the Distrito Federal and state of Goiás, where they build silk tunnels under rocks and logs, males were seen roaming in search of mates in September to November.

Dolichothele mottai, male specimen. Paulo Cesar Motta in Seliz Revollo et al. (2017).

The second new species is named Dolichothele camargorum, in honour of Erney Plessmann de Camargo and Luis Marcelo Aranha Camargo, for their work on medical and biological research in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. The species is described from two specimens, a male with a body length of 5.6 cm and a female with a body length of 10.9 cm, both are black and brown with brown hairs. The species was found in Cerrado fragments in Rondônia State in Brazil and the department of La Paz in Bolivia.

Dolichothele camargorum, female specimen. Rogério Bertani in Seliz Revollo et al. (2017).

Wednesday, 31 August 2016

Manihot pachycaulis: A new species of Cassava from Goiás State, Brazil.

Cassavas, Manihot spp., are a group of trees and shrubs in the Milkspurge family, Euphorbiaceae, which includes the widely cultivated Edible Cassava, Manihot esculenta. The genus is thought to have originated in Central America, but reaches its maximum diversity in the Cerrado (savanah), Caatinga (thornscrub), and Amazon (rainforest) ecosystems of Brazil, where about 80 of the 100 known species are found.

In a paper published in the Nordic Journal of Botany on 22 January 2016, Marcos José da Silva, Alexandre Antonio Alonso, and Rodolfo Carneiro Sodré of the Departamento de Botânica at the Universidade Federal de Goiás, describe a new species of Cassava from the Cerrado of Goiás State, Brazil.

The new species is named Manihot pachycaulis, where 'pachycaulis' means 'thick-stemmed'. The plants are dwarf shrubs reaching 15-45 cm in height, with pendant flowers and lobed leaves. The species was found growing on Cerrado Grasslands in the Chapada dos Veadeiros region of Goiás State, on hillslopes with clay or clay and rock soils, at altitudes of between 705 and 1028 m above sealevel.

Details of Manihot pachycaulis (A) general aspect of the plant, (B) flowering branch, (C) detail of the stem, note the enlarged base, (D) aspect of the inflorescence showing the staminate flower resupined, (E) detail of pistillate flowers. Marcos José da Silva in Da Silva et al. (2016).

All of the colonies of the plant discovered were within a 100 km² area in an area without any conservation protection, and none of these colonies contained more than about 10 plants. For this reason the species is considered to be Vulnerable under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.