ABSTRACT This study aimed at proposing a new technical criteria for condemnation of turkey carcasses due to fowlpox in turkeys as a contribution for the work of the Brazilian Federal Meat Inspection Service. Skin samples from 30 carcasses of a flock of 840 turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo), previously vaccinated for fowlpox and slaughtered in June 2013, were collected. Samples were submitted to histological examination under light microscopy. The virus was identified using standard PCR techniques. The main histological findings were hyperplasia and hydropic degeneration of the epithelium and the presence of intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusion bodies. PCR results yielded 83.3% positive and 16.7% negative samples. Fowlpox virus is species specific, and there are no reports of its occurrence in mammals. The macroscopic and microscopic findings of the skin lesions do not justify the total condemnation of carcasses of poultry affected with fowlpox, except in cases of cachexia or repulsive appearance, as established by SIF regulation.

Resumo Neste artigo são apresentados de forma preliminar alguns espécimes fósseis representativos do acervo coletado no Programa de Salvamento do Patrimônio Paleontológico (PSPP) da UHE Belo Monte, que inclui fauna vertebrada e invertebrada inédita das formações Pitinga, Jatapu, Manacapuru, Maecuru e Alter do Chão, da bacia do Amazonas, Brasil. No salvamento paleontológico de Belo Monte foi possível recuperar 495 amostras para microfósseis e 1744 amostras com macrofósseis em 30 meses de amostragem, que ainda continua em andamento. Os macrofósseis identificados são possíveis restos de plantas, icnofósseis, graptolitos, braquiópodes, moluscos, artópodes, Agnatha, palinomorfos (miósporos, acritarcas, cistos de alga, esporos de fungo e tipos indeterminados) além de fósseis não identificados. No entanto, pesquisa científica aprofundada não é parte do escopo do programa, e esta coleção deve ser estudada no futuro por pesquisadores pela visita ao Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, onde os fósseis ficarão depositados. Mais material será coletado até o fim de 2015. A assemblagem coletada permite a composição de mosaico com elementos necessários para a definição, em artigos futuros, características taxonômicas que levarão à identificação precisa de espécies e interpretações paleoambientais.

Abstract In this paper some preliminary fossil specimens are presented. They represent a collection sampled by Belo Monte’s Programa de Salvamento do Patrimônio Paleontológico (PSPP), which includes unprecedented invertebrate fauna and fossil vertebrates from Pitinga, Jatapu, Manacapuru, Maecuru e Alter do Chão formations from Amazonas basin, Brazil. The Belo Monte paleontological salvage was able to recover 495 microfossil samples and 1744 macrofossil samples on 30 months of sampling activities, and it is still ongoing. The macrofossils identified are possible plant remains, ichnofossils, graptolites, brachiopods, molluscs, athropods, Agnatha, palynomorphs (miosphores, acritarchs, algae cysts, fungi spores and unidentified types) and unidentified fossils. However, deep scientific research is not part of the scope of the program, and this collection must be further studied by researchers who visit Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, where the fossils will be housed. More material will be collected until the end of the program. The collection sampled allows a mosaic composition with the necessary elements to assign, in later papers, taxonomic features which may lead to accurate species identification and palaeoenvironmental interpretations.