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We documented the first reports of Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758), in the Rio Grande do Norte state, northeastern Brazil. In December 2014, one adult male was road-killed in an Atlantic Forest remnant in São Gonçalo do Amarante municipality. Another three animals were killed by hunters in the Caatinga between 2012 and 2014, in the municipalities of Lajes and Santana do Matos. These records provide important information about the occurrence and distribution and conservation of this mesocarnivore in northeastern South America.

The aortic arrangement is an important structure associated with the maintenance of homeostasis. Based on this information, this study was conducted to describe the collateral arteries of the aortic arch of Antillean manatee and define the standard model for the species. Three specimens, an adult male, adult female and a male neonate, all strandings on the coast of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, were used. The study was performed in the Laboratory of Morphophysiology of Vertebrates of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, where in situ photographs were taken to demonstrate their topography. Subsequently, their hearts were removed and fixed in 10% formaldehyde and after 72 hr were dissected and analysed, obtaining schematic drawings and photographs of the vascular arrangement. The aortic arch was represented by three collateral arteries identified as the brachiocephalic trunk, left common carotid artery and left subclavian artery. This arrangement was similar to that found for other sirenians, and yet, for other mammals like hooded seal, murine, margarita island capuchin, black‐handed tamarin, Mongolian gerbil and human. The morphological similarity presented in this study with different species of mammals, including humans, may contribute valuable information from an evolutionary point of view.