NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics.

Xenarthrans-anteaters, sloths, and armadillos-have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths.

Survey on helminths and protozoa of free-living Neotropical bats from Northeastern Brazil.

Bats are considered important reservoirs of pathogens of veterinary and medical relevance worldwide. However, despite the increasing attention paid towards the central role of bats in the spreading of some zoonotic infections, studies on their own parasites remain patchy especially in Neotropical regions. Understanding the relationships occurring between bats and their pathogens is a crucial step to determine the implications undermining the ecology and biology of these animals.

Phylogenetic relationship of the Brazilian isolates of the rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda: Metastrongylidae) employing mitochondrial COI gene sequence data.

Background: The rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis can cause eosinophilic meningoencephalitis in humans. This nematode's main definitive hosts are rodents and its intermediate hosts are snails. This parasite was first described in China and currently is dispersed across several Pacific islands, Asia, Australia, Africa, some Caribbean islands and most recently in the Americas.