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PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Morfometria, célula epitelial, inseto, broca da cana, mesêntero ABSTRACT -The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis Fabricius, has great economical interest as it affects the culture and industrial use of the sugarcane. However, there are few studies concerning the internal morphology of this insect. This work aims to study morphometrically the midgut and the epithelium along their lenght, trying to characterize different regions. Midgut of last instar larvae was divided in three regions: anterior, middle and posterior, and the fragments were processed for light microscopic observation. Histological sections were analyzed in a computerized system concerning the length, width and area of the epithelium, their cells, and the midgut lumen. The obtained data were statistically analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test and by multivariate analysis. Our results showed that the midgut has two different regions, the anterior and the posterior; the middle region presents values that are coincident with the ones of either the anterior and the posterior portions, suggesting that there is an intermediate region between the other two ones. The epithelial cells (columnar, goblet and regenerative cells), when evaluated by multivariate analysis, do not present significant morphometric differences in the different midgut regions. However, the analysis of variance for separate variables show that the regenerative cells present wide morphometric variability along the midgut.

Wild animals are exposed to numerous pathogens, including hemoparasites. The Trypanosoma and hemogregarine group are frequently reported as parasites in anurans (frogs, tree frogs and toads). The identification of these hemoparasites is usually made through stage observation of their morphology in the peripheral blood of the host. There are no studies, however, based on the biological cycle of these hemoparasites. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the presence of hemogregarines and Trypanosoma spp. in anurans captured in the States of São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul -Brazil and to perform the morphological and morphometric characterization of these hemoparasites. The species of anurans examined were: Dendropsophus nanus, D. minutus, Leptodactylus chaquensis, L. podicipinus, L. labyrinthicus, L. fuscus, Bufo granulosus, B. schneideri, Phyllomedusa hypocondrialis, Trachicephalus venulosus, Scinax fuscovarius and Hypsiboas albopunctatus. Of the total of 40 animals studied, four (10%) were positive for hemogregarines and eight (20%) were positive for Trypanosoma spp. Hemogregarine gamonts showed variable morphology and, in addition to intra-erythrocytic forms, extra-erythrocytic forms were also observed. Extremely different forms of Trypanosoma were observed, as described in the literature, with the broad and oval forms being the most common.

Platynosomum illiciens (Trematoda, Plagiorchida) is a trematode parasite reported in felids and falconiforms. It was identified in the gall bladder of eight captive neotropical necropsied primates from the National Primate Center (CENP), Ananindeua, State of Pará, Brazil. This is the first description of Platynosomum illiciens as a parasite of primates.

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