Abstract The geographical distribution of sand flies in Brazil has been the subject of some studies, yet there is no information about the phlebotomine fauna in João Pessoa, State of Paraíba, Brazil. The aim of this work is to evaluate the occurrence and distribution of sand flies in the Atlantic forest fragments and to evaluate a possible dispersion in 06 nearby districts. Light traps were used during three consecutive nights, supplemented by an aspirator during the dry period and rainy season. A total of 222 sand flies were found, 143 (130 males and 13 females) in the Atlantic forest, and 79 in urban areas. During the entire dry season, three species of phlebotomine sand flies were recorded in 11 forest fragments, Lutzomyia longipalpis, Lu. migonei and Lu. whitmani. During the rainy season, only Lu. longipalpis was found. This was the only species identified in the studied neighborhoods during both seasons. The differences in diversity of sand flies encountered between natural habitats and urban areas may thus be correlated mostly with adaptations to particular habitats and availability of food. One species (Lu. longipalpis) appears to be rapidly adapting to urban areas because of deforestation.

OBJETIVOS: A estrutura populacional de Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis e F. paulensis, consistindo principalmente de juvenis, foi avaliada durante a construção de uma via expressa ao longo de uma área de manguezais. Regiões estuarinas do sul do Brasil funcionam como locais de reprodução, berçários e de crescimento de uma variedade de organismos, incluindo duas das mais importantes espécies de camarões comerciais do Atlântico Sul Ocidental. Camarões foram coletados no Saco dos Limões, Baía Sul, Florianópolis, Estado de Santa Catarina, trimestralmente, de dia e de noite, entre 1997 e 2006. Flutuações em abundâncias de camarões podem estar relacionados aos seus ciclos de vida, com as maiores abundâncias no verão e primavera, ao invés de impactos promovidos pelas atividades de dragagem durante a construção da via expressa.

OBJECTIVES: Population structures of Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis and F. paulensis, consisting mainly of juveniles, were evaluated during the construction of an expressway along a mangrove area. Estuarine regions in southern Brazil function as sites for reproduction, nursery and growth of a variety of organisms, including two of the most important species of shrimp for fisheries in the southwestern Atlantic. Shrimps were collected in Saco dos Limões creek, Baía-Sul, Florianópolis, State of Santa Catarina, four times a year, by day and night, between 1997 and 2006. Fluctuations in the abundances of shrimp appear to be related to their life cycles, with largest abundances in Summer and Spring, rather than to impacts promoted by dredging activities during the expressway construction.

Ninety-four morphological characters belonging to particular ontogenetic sequences within the Eucarida were used to produce a hierarchy of 128 evolutionary novelties (73 synapomorphies and 55 homoplasies) and to delimit 15 monophyletic taxa. The following combined Recent-fossil sequenced phylogenetic classification is proposed: Superorder Eucarida; Order Euphausiacea; Family Bentheuphausiidae; Family Euphausiidae; Order Amphionidacea; Order Decapoda; Suborder Penaeidea; Suborder Pleocyemata; Infraorder Stenopodidea; Infraorder Reptantia; Infraorder Procarididea, Infraorder Caridea. The position of the Amphionidacea as the sister-group of the Decapoda is corroborated, while the Reptantia are proposed to be the sister-group of the Procarididea + Caridea for the first time. The fossil groups Uncina Quenstedt, 1850, and Palaeopalaemon Whitfield, 1880, are included as incertae sedis taxa within the Reptantia, which establishes the minimum ages of all the higher taxa of Eucarida except the Procarididea and Caridea in the Upper Devonian. The fossil group "Pygocephalomorpha" Beurlen, 1930, of uncertain status as a monophyletic taxon, is provisionally considered to belong to the "stem-group" of the Reptantia. Among the more important characters hypothesized to have evolved in the stem-lineage of each eucaridan monophyletic taxon are: (1) in Eucarida, attachement of post-zoeal carapace to all thoracic somites; (2) in Euphausiacea, reduction of endopod of eighth thoracopod; (3) in Bentheuphausiidae, compound eyes vestigial, associated with abyssal life; (4) in Euphausiidae, loss of endopod of eighth thoracopod and development of specialized luminescent organs; (5) in Amphionidacea + Decapoda, ambulatory ability of thoracic exopods reduced, scaphognathite, one pair of maxillipedes, pleurobranch gill series and carapace covering gills, associated with loss of pelagic life; (6) in Amphionidacea, unique thoracic brood pouch in females formed by inflated carapace and specialized first pieopod, eclosion in zoea phase, body dorsoventrally depressed, thoracopods reduced and antennular statocyst lost, associated with planktonic life; (7) in Decapoda, double series of arthrobranchiae, laminar rostrum, acute stylocerite, two additional pairs of maxillipedes, three pairs of chelipedes and two pairs of walking legs, associated with nekto-benthonic life; (8) in Penaeidea, dendrobranchiae and post-larval mandibular palp expanded; (9) in Pleocyemata, pleopodal incubation of eggs and eclosion in zoea phase; (10) in Stenopodidea, pereiopodal exopods lost in adults and massive third chelipedes, associated with benthonic life; (11) in Reptantia + Procarididea + Caridea, pleura of second abdominal somite overlapping first and specialized setal brushes on propodus of fourth and fifth pereiopods; (12) in Reptantia, hypertrophied first chelipede, associated with benthonic life; (13) in Procarididea + Caridea, chela lost from third pereiopod and epipod-setobranch complexes for gill cleaning; (14) in Procarididea, chelae lost from first and second pereiopods; and (15) in Caridea, ocellus on ocular peduncle.

The southern boundaries of Tozeuma serratum A. Milne Edwards, Salmoneus ortmanni (Rankin) and Processa profunda Manning & Chace, previously known only from the northwestern Atlantic, have been extended to São Paulo, Paraná and Uruguay, respectively. Latreutes parvulus (Stimpson), previously not known beyond São Paulo has been found to as far south as the Province of Buenos Aires. A systematic account of these four species is furnished, based mainly on material collected by the R/V "Prof. W. Besnard". The 16 species of Alpheoidea whose southern boundaries occur in warm-temperate shelf waters of eastern South America belong to two distinct faunal assemblages: (1) Tropical species - Alpheus floridanus Kingsley, A. intrinsecus Bate, A. normanni Kingsley, Salmoneus ortmanni (Rankin) Synalpheus longicarpus (Herrick), Ogyrides alphaerostris (Kingsley) (= O. occidentalis(Ortmann)), Exhippolysmata oplophoroides (Holthuis), Latreutes parvalus (Stimpson), Processa bermudensis (Rankin) and P. hemphilli Manning & Chace - which are largely restricted to coastal and inshore shelf waters less than 50 m deep; and (2) Subtropical species - Alpheus pouang Chris toffersen, A. puapeba Christoffersen, Merhippolyte americana Holthuis, Tozeuma serratum A. Milne Edwards, Processa guyanae. Holthuis and P. profunda Manning & Chace - which are largely restricted to the outer portion of the continental shelf within the studied area. Considering the temperature and distributional data available for each species, it is suggested that the poleward boundaries of O. alphaerostris are set by maximum summer temperatures of about 20ºC required for the reproduction of the species, while the poleward boundaries of most of the tropical and subtropical species are set by minimum winter temperatures critical for their survival: about 15ºC for A. floridanus, about 11ºC for E. oplophoroides, about 9ºC for A. pouang, L. parvulus, P. guyanae., P. guyanae and P. hemphilli, and P. profunda and about 8ºC for A. puapeba and M. americana. It is further suggested that the shoreward boundaries of some of the subtropical species are set by maximum summer temperatures critical for their survival: about 20-22ºC for A. puapzba and about 17-18ºC for A. pouang and M. americana.