Out of Africa: Fossils shed light on the origin of the hoatzin, an iconic Neotropic bird.

We describe the earliest fossils of the enigmatic avian taxon Opisthocomiformes (hoatzins) from the Oligo-Miocene (22-24 mya) of Brazil. The bones, a humerus, scapula and coracoid, closely resemble those of the extant hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin. The very similar osteology of the pectoral girdle in the new Brazilian fossil compared to the extant O. hoazin, in which it reflects peculiar feeding adaptations, may indicate that hoatzins had already evolved their highly specialized feeding behavior by the mid-Cenozoic. We further show that Namibiavis senutae from the early Miocene of Namibia is another, previously misclassified representative of Opisthocomiformes, which documents that the extant Neotropic distribution of hoatzins is relictual. Because of the weak flight capabilities of hoatzins, their occurrence on both sides of the South Atlantic is of particular biogeographic interest. We detail that this distribution pattern is best explained by dispersal from Africa to South America, and that Opisthocomiformes provide the first example of transatlantic rafting among birds.

Hidden generic diversity in Neotropical birds: molecular and anatomical data support a new genus for the "Scytalopus"indigoticus species-group (Aves: Rhinocryptidae).

The genus Scytalopus is a species-rich and taxonomically complicated component of the Neotropical avian family Rhinocryptidae. Probably because Scytalopus is a superficially uniform assemblage, its monophyly has not been seriously questioned. We investigated phylogenetic relationships of a representative set of species in the genus using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences as well as anatomical data, and provided the first test of its presumed monophyly by including in the analyses its hypothesized closest relatives (the genera Myornis, Eugralla, and Merulaxis) as well as most rhinocryptid genera. We found strong support for the paraphyly of the genus Scytalopus, with the Scytalopus indigoticus species-group forming a clade with Merulaxis. A well-supported clade including the genera Eugralla, Myornis, and the remaining Scytalopus was also recovered. Because these results were recovered independently and with strong support using mitochondrial and nuclear data, and were entirely consistent with anatomical data, we erect a new genus for the S.indigoticus species-group. These findings illustrate the importance of formally testing hypotheses of monophyly even for well-accepted groups of Neotropical birds.

Distribuição de Leptasthenura setaria (Temminck, 1824) (Aves: Furnariidae) no Estado de São Paulo / Leptasthenura setaria (Temminck, 1824) (Aves: Furnariidae) in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

O grimpeiro Leptasthenura setaria é totalmente dependente do pinheiro-do-paraná Araucaria angustifolia e considerado quase ameaçado de extinção pela IUCN. Apresentam-se sete novas localidades de ocorrência do grimpeiro para o Estado de São Paulo, incluindo os primeiros espécimes coletados dentro dos seus limites. A espécie foi encontrada tanto em pinheiros-do-paraná nativos quanto em plantados e está presente em cinco unidades de proteção integral.

The Araucaria Tit-Spinetail Leptasthenura setaria is found exclusively in Parana-Pine Araucaria angustifolia, being classified as near-threatened by IUCN. We present seven new localities to Araucaria Tit-Spinetail from São Paulo, including the first state specimens. This species was recorded in native or planted Parana-Pine, in five reserves.

Higher-level phylogeny and morphological evolution of tyrant flycatchers, cotingas, manakins, and their allies (Aves: Tyrannida).

Despite increased understanding of higher-level relationships in passerine birds in the last 15 years, the taxonomic boundaries and phylogenetic interrelationships of the major groups of the Tyrannida (including the cotingas, manakins, tityrines, and tyrant flycatchers) remain unclear. Here, we present an analysis of DNA sequence data obtained from two nuclear exons, three introns, and one mitochondrial gene for 26 genera of Tyrannida and 6 tracheophone outgroups. The analysis resulted in well-supported hypotheses about the earliest evolution within Tyrannida. The Cotingidae, Pipridae, Tityrinae (sensu) [Prum, R.O., Rice, N.H., Mobley, J.A., Dimmick, W.W., 2000. A preliminary phylogenetic hypothesis for the cotingas (Cotingidae) based on mitochondrial DNA. Auk 117, 236-241], Tyrannidae, and the tyrannid subfamiles Tyranninae and Pipromorphinae (sensu) [Sibley, C.G., Monroe, B. L. Jr., 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT] were all found to be reciprocally monophyletic (given the present taxon sampling). The Cotingidae and Pipridae form a clade that is the sister group to a well-supported clade including Oxyruncus, the Tityrinae, Piprites, and the Tyrannidae. Oxyruncus is the sister group to the Tityrinae, and Piprites is placed as the sister group to the Tyrannidae. The tyrannid subfamilies Tyranninae and Pipromorphinae are monophyletic sister taxa, but the relationships of Platyrinchus mystaceus to these two clades remains ambiguous. The presence of medial (=internal) cartilages in the syrinx is a synapomorphy for the Oxyruncus-Tityrinae-Piprites-Tyrannidae clade. Although morphological synapomorphies currently support the monophyly of both the Pipridae and the Cotingidae, convergences and/or reversals in morphological character states are common in Tyrannida. The relationship between Oxyruncus and the Tityrinae is congruent with additional syringeal synapomorphies and allozyme distance data. Accordingly, we propose the recognition the family Tityridae within the Tyrannida to include the genera Schiffornis, Laniisoma, Laniocera, Iodopleura, Xenopsaris, Pachyramphus, Tityra, and Oxyruncus.

Epifisiolise proximal do fêmur: relato de um caso / Slipping capital femoral epiphysis: report of a case

Os autores apresentam um caso de epifisiolise proximal do fêmur, bilateral, onde a fase aguda se deu aos 21 anos no lado esquerdo e aos 24 anos no lado direito, portanto bastante acima da idade habitual. No lado direito o desvio da cabeça femoral foi em valgo (lateral em relaçäo ao colo), ou seja, o contrário do habitual. A etiologia é comentada valorizando-se a causa endócrina; a idade óssea de acometimento é valorizada sobre a idade cronológica

Coxa vara: tecnica simplificada de correcao. / Coxa vara: a simplified correction technique

Os autores apresentam uma tecnica operatoria simplificada de correcao da coxa vara de qualquer etiologia, utilizando a placa de Jewett como fixacao; apresentam sete casos operados com a referida tecnica, demonstrando o excelente resultado obtido

Estudo sobre o comportamento do enxerto osseo em ratos. / The behaviour of bone grafts in rats

Os autores pesquisaram o comportamento do enxerto osseo em peronio de ratos albinos durante um periodo de seis semanas apos a enxertia. Os animais foram divididos em 3 grupos, sendo o primeiro com enxerto autogeno sem periosteo, o segundo com enxerto homologo sem periosteo e o terceiro com enxerto autogeno com periosteo. Foram sacrificados dois ratos de cada grupo, semanalmente, sendo o enxerto retirado e preparado em cortes histologicos para exame.Concluiu-se que por volta de uma semana o enxerto morre quase completamente, sendo reabitado por tecido osseo neoformado, num processo que parte quase inteiramente do endosteo quando o periosteo e retirado; quando esse ultimo e mantido, a reabitacao do enxerto e quase completamente de origem periostal. O comportamento do enxerto autogeno comparado ao do homologo, desprovidos de periosteo, nao apresentou diferenca significativa