The success of conservation programs for the taruka (Hippocamelus antisensis d\'Orbigny), an endemic and endangered deer, depends on many factors, highlighting anthropogenic and ecological effects. Among the latter, how this herbivore interacts with forage resources is important. The objective of the study was to describe the main attributes of the diet of this deer in rangelands adjacent to agricultural areas of the foothills of the Tarapacá Region, Chile. The botanical composition of the diet (BCD) was determined by microhistology of feces and fecal nitrogen (NF, %) was measured in two contrasting seasons (rainy summer and dry winter). From the BCD and FN, their relative diversity (J) and crude protein percentage were estimated. In the BCD, Medicago sativa dominated (27.6 ± 8.2% vs. 53.9 ± 9.2%, in rainy summer and dry end winter, respectively), followed by herbaceous dicots (46.2 ± 9.4% vs. 19.4 ± 8.7%) and shrubby species (21.5 ± 7.8% vs. 23.4 ± 7.0%), from rangelands. The contribution of grasses and graminoid species was low, not exceeding 3% and 0.4% of the diet, respectively, with no differences between seasons of the year. Intake of horticultural crop species was marginal (1.3 ± 1.3%), being detected only in the wet season. Diet relative diversity was higher during the wet period (0.75 ± 0.07) compared to the dry period (0.58 ± 0.06), since in the first period it was possible to find a greater number of palatable species. There were no significant differences in the FN attributed to the time of the year (average of 1.8 ± 0.19%), which indicates that the diet of this deer would be stable in terms of its protein quality. These FN levels estimate sufficient dietary protein content to satisfy maintenance and early pregnancy, but these could be limiting during late gestation and lactation.

BACKGROUND: Most sand fly species are located in the Americas; some act as vectors of leishmaniasis and other human diseases. In Bolivia, about 25% of Neotropical species have been identified, and only a few have been implicated as vectors of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. A new species of anthropophilic sand fly from the sub-Andean region of Alto Beni is described herein.
METHODS: A large systematic entomological survey was carried out in a subtropical humid forest located in the Marimonos mountain range, at around 900 m altitude, in the municipality of Palos Blancos, Sud Yungas Province, Department of La Paz, Bolivia. Sand flies were captured over a period of 26 months between January 1982 and February 1984, at the ground and canopy level, using both CDC light traps and protected human bait. A total of 24,730 sand flies were collected on the ground, distributed in 16 species, and 3259 in the canopy, with eight species. One of these species was labeled as Pintomia (Pifanomyia) nevesi, although certain morphological features allowed us to doubt that it was that taxon. To define the identity of this sand fly, a re-evaluation (this work) was recently carried out through morphological analyses and measurements of the available specimens mounted on Euparal, previously labeled as Pi. (Pif.) nevesi.
RESULTS: Based on the morphological traits and measurements, the re-evaluated specimens were definitively identified as a new sand fly species, Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) veintemillasi, closely related to Pi. (Pif.) nevesi and Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) maranonensis within the Evansi series. This new sand fly was the third most numerous anthropophilic species at the floor (6.2%) and the second most numerous anthropophilic at the canopy (35.1%).
CONCLUSIONS: A new anthropophilic sand fly species is described as Pi. (Pif.) veintemillasi n. sp. This sand fly species was caught at about 900 m altitude in the Marimonos mountain range, a highly endemic area for cutaneous and mucosal leishmaniasis due to Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis. Therefore, this species could be involved in the leishmaniasis transmission in the sub-Andean foothills of Alto Beni, Department of La Paz, Bolivia.

The genus Alsodes is the most diverse amphibian taxon of southern Andes, where a series of endemic species occur from north to south (∼33° to 48°30\'S), mainly on the western slopes (Chile), with little overlap of geographic ranges. In this study, we describe a new population of Alsodes from the western slopes of the Andes (Fundo El Rosario, 36°52\'S), located in a section of this mountain range where it is not clear which congeneric species inhabit. Phylogenetic analyses show that this population presents a mix of mitochondrial DNA related to three nominal species, A. hugoi, A. igneus and A. pehuenche, although the last is mainly present. However, the population presents external characteristics attributable to A. hugoi and A. igneus, differing notably from A. pehuenche. The population inhabits a stream surrounded by temperate deciduous forests at 1130 m elevation, an environment similar to that of A. hugoi and A. igneus, but very different from that of A. pehuenche (high Andean steppe environments between 2000 and 2500 m). This finding represents an enigma from the evolutionary and biogeographical point of view, because it might involve hybridization and/or introgression phenomena between more than two species. As the taxonomic status of this population cannot be determined with the available genetic and morphological evidence, we speculate about its probable origin, taking into account the scarce knowledge of the geographic distributions of the species of Alsodes in the area.