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Land flatworms usually show low ability to disperse and high endemicity, displaying many singletons in studies on land planarian assemblages. Thus, many species have been described based on specimens sampled in a single locality and/or on a few specimens. Based on phylogenetic analyses of concatenated COI and 18S rRNA genes and morphological analyses, a new genus and species of geoplaninid land planarian is described from central–east Argentina and southern Brazil. Winsoria gen. nov. shows, among its most outstanding features, a ventral cephalic retractor muscle and a subneural muscle layer that extends throughout the anterior region of the body. In addition, characters of the reproductive system and the phylogenetic analyses support the erection of this new genus. According to molecular phylogenies,Winsoria bipatria sp. nov. is closely related to species of Luteostriata, Supramontana and Issoca, taxa that also possess a cephalic retractor muscle. Despite its disjunct distribution, phylogenetic analyses, genetic divergence and morphological features show that the allopatric populations studied herein belong to a single species. We argue that the occurrence of W. bipatria in localities separated by hundreds of kilometres and a geographical barrier should be explained by passive dispersal.

Sigmodontinae is a very rich clade of rodents that is widespread throughout the Neotropics. The arboreal mice Juliomys comprise a poorly known branch, with incomplete information about species richness, phylogenetic position, and geographic distribution. Based on a sample from the Atlantic Forest of Southern Brazil, we name and describe a new species for the genus. This new species can be distinguished from others in the genus by its karyotype, morphological traits, and cytochrome b ( Cytb ) gene sequence. It has a unique karyotype (2n = 32, FN = 48), and forms a well-supported monophyletic haplogroup, which is phylogenetically distant from the remaining species of Juliomys . The genetic differentiation ranges from 11.1% to 19.7%, and there are 24 molecular autopomorphies in the Cytb gene. The new species can be distinguished from J . pictipes by morphological and morphometric analyses. However, we consider the new species as cryptic, not easily recognized by morphological characteristics of other species of Juliomys . This taxon seems to be endemic to the Brazilian Araucaria Forest in the Atlantic Forest biome, occurring in sympatry with its congeneric species J. ossitenuis and J. pictipes . In this research, we describe a new species for the genus and extend species distributions in the Atlantic Forest. Sigmodontinae e um clado de roedores muito diverso com especies distribuidas por toda a regiao Neotropical. Dentre esses, as especies de roedores arboricolas inclusos em Juliomys formam um ramo pouco conhecido, com informacoes incompletas sobre a sua riqueza, posicao filogenetica e distribuicao geografica. A partir de uma amostra proveniente da porcao sul do Bioma Mata Atlântica, nomeamos e descrevemos uma nova especie para o genero, a qual pode ser distinguida das demais pelo seu cariotipo, caracteristicas morfologicas e sequencia do gene citocromo b . Essa apresenta um cariotipo unico (2n = 32, FN = 48) e forma um haplogrupo monofiletico com bom suporte, sendo filogeneticamente distante das especies restantes de Juliomys . A diferenciacao genetica dessa especie em relacao as demais varia de 11,1% a 19,7%, possuindo 24 autapomorfias moleculares no gene do citocromo b . A nova especie pode ser distinguida de J . pictipes por caracteres morfologicos e analises morfometricas. No entanto, consideramos a nova especie como criptica, nao facilmente reconhecida, pelos caracteres morfologicos, das demais que compoem Juliomys . Esse novo taxon parece ser endemico da Floresta com Araucaria no Bioma Mata Atlântica, ocorrendo em simpatria com as especies congenericas, J. ossitenuis e J. pictipes . Nesse estudo, descrevemos uma nova especie para o genero, e estendemos a distribuicao das especies na Mata Atlântica.

We report extent and rate of land use/land cover change in a forest–grassland mosaic of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, during a recent period of increasing conflicts between native habitat protection and conversion. The area is part of the Atlantic rain forest biome, a Global Biodiversity Hotspot. Analyzing Landsat and Google Earth imagery, and calculating an effective conservation risk index () as ratio of converted to remnant area, we specifically compared the effectiveness of designated fully protected areas (-s) and Sustainable Use areas (-s) in preventing conversion of native forest and grassland habitats for agri- and silviculture, relative to areas outside. Grassland area decreased by 17%, corresponding to a net loss of 59,671 ha, in the entire area. Forest gains exceeded losses, and was zero inside Full Protection s. Non-native tree plantation area increased by 94% over the entire study area; cropland increased by 7%. Conversion for silviculture predominated outside the designated s and conversion for agriculture predominated inside the designated s. was generally higher for grassland than forest, and in -s, grassland was several times higher than in areas without any protection status. These developments are in stark contrast to the high standards of the Brazilian protected area system and corresponding International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources categories. They are due to protracted regularization of land conversion and establishment of designated protection areas. Furthermore, they reveal the dilemma of previously managed grasslands in strictly protected areas being eventually succeeded by forest, and the hazards of broad interpretation of the term “sustainable development”.

Background Galileo is one of three members of the P superfamily of DNA transposons. It was originally discovered in Drosophila buzzatii, in which three segregating chromosomal inversions were shown to have been generated by ectopic recombination between Galileo copies. Subsequently, Galileo was identified in six of 12 sequenced Drosophila genomes, indicating its widespread distribution within this genus. Galileo is strikingly abundant in Drosophila willistoni, a neotropical species that is highly polymorphic for chromosomal inversions, suggesting a role for this transposon in the evolution of its genome. Results We carried out a detailed characterization of all Galileo copies present in the D. willistoni genome. A total of 191 copies, including 133 with two terminal inverted repeats (TIRs), were classified according to structure in six groups. The TIRs exhibited remarkable variation in their length and structure compared to the most complete copy. Three copies showed extended TIRs due to internal tandem repeats, the insertion of other transposable elements (TEs), or the incorporation of non-TIR sequences into the TIRs. Phylogenetic analyses of the transposase (TPase)-encoding and TIR segments yielded two divergent clades, which we termed Galileo subfamilies V and W. Target-site duplications (TSDs) in D. willistoni Galileo copies were 7- or 8-bp in length, with the consensus sequence GTATTAC. Analysis of the region around the TSDs revealed a target site motif (TSM) with a 15-bp palindrome that may give rise to a stem-loop secondary structure. Conclusions There is a remarkable abundance and diversity of Galileo copies in the D. willistoni genome, although no functional copies were found. The TIRs in particular have a dynamic structure and extend in different ways, but their ends (required for transposition) are more conserved than the rest of the element. The D. willistoni genome harbors two Galileo subfamilies (V and W) that diverged ~9 million years ago and may have descended from an ancestral element in the genome. Galileo shows a significant insertion preference for a 15-bp palindromic TSM. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-792) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.