The study presents the first species list for holothurians from the coast of the State of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. The list was made based on the study of specimens deposited in the Invertebrate Collection Paulo Young, Federal University of Paraíba. A total of 16 species from seven families of Holothuroidea were recorded. This paper contributes to the biodiversity studies from the northeast coast of Brazil.

This revision presents topic related to the iconic mushrooms belonging to fungal genus Amanita. A brief story regarding to the Systematic and Taxonomy and the distribution of the species in Brazil are also presented.

The predation of lizards is rarely observed in the wild, and events involving snakes are scarcer still. Here we document in detail the predation of a lizard (Tropidurus hispidus (Spix, 1825)) by a snake (Oxyrhopus trigeminus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854). Many studies have identified Tropidurus Wied-Neuwied, 1825 lizards as prey for Brazilian snakes. Thus, this record provides important insights into the natural history of both species, especially O. trigeminus, which are essential for the understanding of their ecology.

É com imensa satisfação que apresentamos à comunidade científica o periódico Pesquisa e Ensino em Ciências Exatas e da Natureza (PECEN). O lançamento deste periódico representa um marco importante e de grande significado para a Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências Exatas e da Natureza (UACEN), Centro de Formação de Professores (CFP), Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), por consolidar um projeto de longo alcance, tendo em vista a multidisciplinaridade da revista e do corpo editorial envolvido, o qual é composto por docentes da UFCG e de outras instituições de ensino superior do país. A proposta de criação e estruturação do periódico foi iniciada pelo Prof. Dr. Carlos D. Pinheiro (UACEN) no segundo semestre de 2015 e concretizada no primeiro semestre de 2017, com a contratação do Prof. Dr. Silvio F. B. Lima, que passou a gerenciar a implantação e a formatação do periódico, tendo o apoio do Prof. Dr. Heydson H. B. Silva e da equipe editorial apresentada ao final. O nome do periódico foi escolhido para enfatizar o seu caráter multidisciplinar e de divulgação de trabalhos científicos nas mais diversas áreas de Ciências Exatas e da Natureza, principalmente, no que se refere à Física, Matemática, Química e as Ciências Biológicas.

The Theory of Evolution is not only the unifying force in Biology, but also one of the most important scientific concepts ever developed. However, the topic has always been neglected or misrepresented, resulting in a population that do not understand (or outright do not believe in) Evolution. The present work consists in a content analysis of Evolution in Brazilian Middle School textbooks. Its aims included the search for obstacles to the understanding of Evolution, such as: conceptual errors, language problems, “Lamarckism” and Creationism. We conclude that many of these obstacles are indeed present in textbooks, hampering the students’ grasp on Evolution; among these, the gravest is not representing Evolution as Biology’s central theory. Nevertheless, we also observed that it is indeed possible to develop the theme in a coherent manner, without recourse to over-simplifications (“dumbing down”) which may result in conceptual mistakes.

A pycnogonid species classified in the family Pallenopsidae Fry, 1978 and the genus Pallenopsis Wilson, 1881 is recorded in this study for the coast of the state of Paraíba in northeastern Brazil based on the identification of three female specimens collected from the infralittoral zone at depths of 12 to 34 meters. Pallenopsis fluminensis (Krøyer, 1844) is the fourth species of Pycnogonida recorded for the region. To date, only Anoplodactylus batangensis (Helfer, 1938), A. eroticus Stock, 1968 and A. mirim Lucena, Araújo & Christoffersen, 2015 have been recorded for the coast of the state of Paraíba. Pallenopsis fluminensis is diagnosed by a trunk with small setae on the distal border of each segment; proboscis with terminal setae; lateral processes with small setae; palps without setae and reduced to a small knob; chela with many setae, palm 1.5 times longer than wide; ovigers with eight articles on females, articles 5 and 6 subequal and article 8 not much smaller than 7; and tibia 1 without dense cover of the setae. To date, P. fluminensis is the only congener from the Atlantic coast of South America without a dense cover of setae on tibia 1.

Several factors have the potential to influence the distribution and composition of reef fish communities. Amongst the most important are rugosity, wave exposure, substrate cover and human activities. The present study evaluated the influence of these factors on reef fishes from sites following a gradient of human-induced effects on the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, northeast Brazil and determined their relative importance to reef fish ecology. Rugosity did not influence fish richness, but had a positive influence on number of individuals, juveniles and endemic species, whereas benthic cover did not seem to be an important determinant for any fish variable evaluated. These results suggest that availability of shelter (physical protection) is more limiting than availability of food (i.e. benthic cover). Furthermore, water flow showed somewhat low values, but even so, had negative effects on fish numbers. Recreational activities, albeit seemingly non-impacting, had a negative effect on fish abundance with the partially protected site (Atalaia) showing a similar community structure to the unrestricted site (Porto). These results suggest that human presence, even when supervised, may interfere on reef fish structure. Low-impact tourism practices are required especially in partially protected and unprotected areas.