1912-1915

At night we saw Mr. Jacques Meyer, a Frenchman who lives in Xiquexique and who gave us much useful information and some interesting photographs. He owns a Fazenda which is rather far away, and where he has plantations of maniçoba (see figs.77-83, p.249-58).

June 16. Today we were shown a small collection of “carbonados,” a kind of black, lusterless diamond, which is found only in the state of Bahia. It is used exclusively for industrial purposes but the commercial value of small specimens is greater than that of other diamonds of the same size, amounting to about 25 mil réis per grain. The region they come from is rather far off, on the serras that are visible on the horizon; maniçoba grows there but it is generally badly processed and full of impurities.

Xiquexique, whose name is derived from a species of Cereus, has a fine town hall. The other houses are neither very good nor very poor. There is public illumination by means of oil lamps. At the port, great slabs of native rock are exposed and the town is situated well above the river and is free from the usual swamps and lagoons. Its sanitary condition is better than usual owing to this. Even so, it was totally inundated during the great floods of 1906, as shown in the photographs taken by Mr. Jacques Meyer.

There is a resident doctor here whose information suggested the absence of any endemic diseases. There was no milk pox, perhaps because the population is vaccinated. On the banks of the Verde River, about 12 leagues away by land, there are some very malignant fevers, considered the worst of the region. We did not go there as it was very far and the season of fevers was over. There was some mention of epidemic beriberi at Taboleiro Alto, but on arriving closer to that place, which is farther downstream, we received only negative answers to our enquiries.

The day was very hot and the temperature went up to 33°C; at 10 o'clock at night it was still 24°C. There were many insects at the acetylene lights. Later a strong wind came up, which scattered the Ephemerids and brought some Cellia argyrotarsis, evidently swept in from distant places. The canal in front of the town is as wide as many stretches of the São Francisco River and the mosquitoes probably hailed from the opposite bank. In the port there were many small piranhas. Over twenty were caught by angling from the side of the boat, none of them over a hand's length (see fig.84, p.259).

June 17. We started before 6 a.m., with a temperature of 22°C. To the left we saw many “carnauba palms,” characterized by their globe-shaped crowns. At 7 o'clock we entered the São Francisco at a point where there is a series of hills on the left bank, apparently entirely composed of sand, exposed in some places and covered by vegetation in others. They have the characteristics of ancient dunes and their eolian origin is corroborated by the frequent and strong winds that blow on this part of the river, where boats habitually use sails. On the right bank, there is a very extensive mesa. We passed a place where one of the company's ships foundered, after having struck a rock. This happened eight years ago, but the tips of the two chimneys can still be seen breaking the water.

Later on we stopped and took on wood at Boa Vista das Esteiras at the foot of a small hill, which is like a volcanic cone in shape. Further down we found another dune which was closer to the river and about 120 meters high. We went up it, finding the climb very fatiguing, as we were mostly walking on loose sand. On top we had a fine view of the other side of the river. On our side there was a succession of rather parallel dunes, almost entirely covered with an interesting flora growing in pure sand. Among the species in flower there was a very lovely Angelonia.

Back on the ship, we went on towards the mouth of the Verde River, where we arrived at 3:35. It is quite a wide estuary. The water, most of which belongs to the São Francisco River, has no distinctive color. I went up the river, which displays rather nice woods edging both banks. The water is quite still; nevertheless, in the canoe and on shore we caught ten specimens of “pium” (Simulium amazonicum); this suggests that this species may make use of the wind and the moist atmosphere over the river to travel long distances from its breeding places in cascading water. We also found a Ceratopogonid. We returned on board at sunset. The boat traveled on to Pilão Arcado, which is on the left bank and not far. During this lap we experienced, for the second and the third time, the sensation produced by contact of the boat with the sandy bottom. After dark we arrived on the beach at Pilão Arcado, where we spent the night. A strong wind arose soon; for this reason, few insects approached the lights, although the thermometer stood at 36°C. A little before 10 o'clock the “Matta Machado” arrived from Juazeiro. By that time the wind had stopped, but it came up again with considerable strength during the night (see fig.85, p.259).

June 18. This morning the temperature was 20°C and the weather good, despite a little wind. We noticed a rather strong current in the river. The small settlement, whose strange name (Arched Pestle) no one seems able to explain, is well situated on ground that is partly sandy and partly covered with pebbles. There are between 200 and 300 houses, some of them good and others very primitive. Behind the town, we found rocky fields with sparse flora, largely xerophytic, including the Xiquexique, which is a Cereus with white blossoms. We saw a block of almost pure quartz as large as a small house, which had been provided with stairs leading to a platform on top, where a large crucifix has been put up and a good view over both banks of the river is afforded. Near the town there are some rocks in the river, which form a sort of miniature reef.

We left at 11:14. The river was still very wide, with low margins and sandbanks on both sides. On one of the latter stood a large band of white herons. A Simulium of a different kind came onboard. In the distance there were some hills or short serras. An hour later we came upon serras forming large mesas on both sides of the river. The one on the right bank is nearer to the bed. This serra was already visible in a photograph taken at Pilão Arcado and was now photographed once more. On the right bank, towards the serra, a very fine rain fell, covering quite a large area, but we bypassed it. A cloud of dust rising from a sandbank served to illustrate the origin of the dunes. Here the river makes a great bend around the serra, so that it next appears on the left bank. At 3 o'clock we reached an arm of the river which passes near a place called Taboleiro Alto, where it receives an affluent of the same name. We barely entered the tributary in the canoe because its course was completely obstructed by fallen trees. We also did not tarry in the village, formed by a small number of very poor houses. At 6 p.m. we arrived, via the lower part of the channel, at a port, where our steamboat was waiting for us. We had passed in front of the Serra do Taboleiro Alto. I collected a large number of Simulium amazonicum, which were abundant in the channel, and shot an Iguana, which was over a meter long, half of it for the tail. We took some photographs and went on to the next place, called Mato Grosso, where we took on firewood and spent the night. Few insects came to the lights, among them Simulium amazonicum and some mosquitoes of the genera Cellia and Mansonia. There was a little wind and a new moon. After 9 o'clock at night the thermometer still stood at 24°C.

June 19. We left at 5:30 a.m. with the thermometer above 24°C. Of late I have no longer noticed any abundant formation of dew. We are now at the same latitude as Maceió and the days are longer and the nights warmer. At 8 o'clock we stood in front of Remanso but had to go on a little farther downstream so as to enter the port, where we arrived soon after. We were visited on board by several persons, including the local physician, Dr. Vital, who gave us a great deal of information. After that we went ashore and up towards the church, which provided a good vantage point for taking photographs, including a fine view of the landscape (see figs.86-87, p.260-61).

In the afternoon we looked for “barbeiros” in the town but only found specimens of the lesser species in two houses. Here it goes by the name of “porocotó.” We also bought a big throw-net and went out with two sailors to try it out. We caught a large specimen of “pocomão,” a ground fish with leather-colored skin, devoid of scales and with very small eyes, Lophiosilurus alexandri Steind. We also got some very small white piranhas or pirambebas (Serrasalmus brandtii Lutken), which cut some of the meshes of the net with their sharp teeth. We saw many southern skimmers [Rhyncops nigra, v. cinarescens Spix], some gulls and some terns and collared plovers [Charadrius collaris?]. On the dry sand, I found two small “caburé” birds. We also got a fledgling of the southern skimmer.

We were informed of the occurrence of peste de cadeiras among the local horses, i.e., equine trypanosomiasis, here called “torce.” Another related disease, dourine, also seems to occur. We tried to make arrangements to examine some of the sick animals, which were mostly rather far away.

June 20. I went early to the fair on the beach, a little higher up the river. Besides other better-known fish, there were some “corvinas,” Pachyurus squamipinnis Agassiz, and two specimens of “pacamão.” Yesterday we had seen the “pirá” for the first time. Afterwards we were at a house where they had a Sittace spixii, which is a very rare species. The owner did not want to sell the bird, which was quite tame, but she succumbed to the sum of money offered her.

In the afternoon there arrived a horse and a donkey suffering from “torce.” Their blood did not show any trypanosomes but we inoculated some animals with it.

The night was very windy and at 10 o'clock the thermometer was still at 24°C.

June 21. This morning the temperature was 20°C and the wind mild. At the fair there was hardly any fish. We attended to several matters on shore and saw some patients. A little before three o'clock we started in the boat for Fazenda Catella, six leagues downstream, so as to see the animals with torce. On both sides of the river there were rather distant serras. Today the water is very turbid because it is agitated by the wind and carries off sand from the abundant sandbanks. A league above the Fazenda we passed the picturesque Morro do Tombador, which has the shape of a pyramid. It is so near the river that with field glasses we could see the fruiting stems of the Encholiririum that we had found at Mor Pará.

Soon after, we arrived at the Fazenda Catella, whose owner, Colonel Januário, had come with us, as well as the doctor from Remanso. On a horse tied near the house, I caught several specimens of a Simulium but did not see either mosquitoes or tabanids. As the sick animal had not yet arrived, I went out at night with two sailors to throw the net near the sandbanks. They made thirty throws but got only one large curimatá and two smaller corvinas. As the meshes were very wide, no small fish were caught (see figs.88-89, p.261-63).

June 22. Early in the morning we crossed the river in the canoe and had a bath. I found some shells of Anodonta and some living Melania, a genus of mollusk common in Brazilian rivers. I shot at some gulls wheeling over a crown of sand, but missed them.

On our return we took a tame horse to a capoeira two kilometers away near a lagoon. We collected three horseflies like those from Brejão and a large number of S.amazonicum.

We did not find the horses at the Fazenda, so after waiting a long while for them, we returned to Remanso, not managing to avoid a few collisions with the bottom of the river. The town is on perfectly level ground and comprises a few hundred houses, few of them detached. The streets are narrow.

June 23. There was nothing interesting at the fair, which is smaller than that of Barra. I took advantage of the stopover to attend to several things. After that, we said good bye to Dr. Vital Rêgo, who had shown us much courtesy, and to several other residents and then we returned to Catella. Here wind is frequent and leaves evident traces of its action on the so-called coroas, i.e., called crowns of sand.

Yesterday afternoon the wind blew hard, but it abated during the night; a little breeze from the prow made it seem less hot than it really was. At 10 o'clock at night it was 24°C; early this morning the temperature was 19°C, but by 10 to 11 o'clock it had again risen, to 26°C. We arrived at the fazenda at 12:50 and stayed until 4:55 in the afternoon. During this time we examined two horses that had trypanosomiasis and did a postmortem on one of them, removing fragments of the viscera for microscopic examination. The blood did not show any trypanosomes but diagnosis was confirmed later by the fact that all the inoculated animals sickened and showed trypanosomes in their blood (see figs.90-92, p.264-66).

During the postmortem, which was performed near the river, a large number of Simulium amazonicum appeared. While returning in the canoe I examined many branches taken out of the river but did not find any traces of Simulium breeding on them. The next lap of the journey was rather picturesque, with serras on both sides of the river and many islands and “coroas” of sand. After dark we stopped at Trahiras at the foot of two hills full of mocós. The sailors built a bonfire in honor of St. John's eve.

June 24. We got up early to go out hunting. I immediately climbed to the highest point; I did not see any mocós, but I collected some interesting plants and the view from on top was splendid. Here the layers of rocks are vertical and there were many veins of quartz. Among the plants there was an aromatic Acanthacea with red flowers and a composite with wooly, almost white leaves, Eremanthus martii. For the last several days, we had been noticing white blotches in the vegetation, which I now found to be due to stands of this species. There were also many cacti and a Loasacea, common name cansanção, full of prickly thorns, which easily pierce socks and even clothes. There were also many shells of a land mollusk I had not observed before.

My companions went a different way and shot a curicaca and several mocós, Kerodon rupestris. These little rodents are like the preá, or wild cavy, but somewhat bigger and stand higher on their legs. They have completely black nails and soles on their feet.

After an hour we resumed our journey, which was interrupted only once for refueling. At 1:30, some dunes covered with vegetation occurred on the left side, while on the other a long mesa-like serra stretched out. Further ahead the towers of the church of Centocé were already in sight when, after scraping the bottom a few times, the boat got stuck so firmly that the engines were powerless to float her again. The sailors had to jump into the water so as to attempt to pry loose with levers, but as this failed as well, the heavy anchor was cast a little way off and then the chain wound so as to pull the ship off. The first attempt made on the left side failed. While these maneuvers went on, I took the opportunity to get into the canoe and land on a sandbank, where many shear-bills and some gulls were on the ground or flying around. I found some nests or rather clutches of three or four eggs laid in little pits on the sandy ground, some of them ready to hatch. The eggs were sand-colored with dark streaks and of two different sizes. There was also one larger egg with an almost white ground color. A band of maracanãs [Propyrrhura maracana] flew past and I shot at them, but did not get any of these rare birds. During this interval the ship had been made to float by repeating the maneuver with the anchor on the opposite side. We went on our way and scraped the bottom again once or twice until we ran aground once more. The anchor was put to work again but this time it failed; finally, round five o'clock, the boat was lifted off by leverage. Twenty minutes later, during which we had several narrow escapes, the church of Centocé came into view behind a grove of carnauba palms. Soon after, we arrived at the port, where there is only a row of miserable shacks, in which Triatoma sordida is said to occur. After dinner, as there was very fine moonlight, I accompanied the captain on a stroll to the settlement two kilometers away. The way was sandy and went past a few small lagoons. When we got there, we found that at the time there were no cases of equine trypanosomiasis, but that it had made many victims and that dourine occurred there too. There is also a good deal of malaria. We talked to several persons and returned to the boat somewhat fatigued from plowing through the sand.

June 25. It was 5:40 when we left. The river is now very broad and placid; on the left side some boulders show above the surface of the water. On the right bank there are many carnauba palms, in front of a mesa-shaped serra. We met the “Carinhanha,” which was traveling to the Corrente River. We tied up so as to wait for it, but ran aground once more and only got free after a great deal of trouble. To the right we saw the Serra do Frade with one very high, completely isolated stone pillar reminding one of the Finger of God in the Organ Mountains of State of Rio. The right bank is completely flat but some dunes covered with vegetation are visible from far away. At 10 o'clock we arrived at Casa Nova, where we remained only long enough to send off a few telegrams. Between the houses in the port and those in the Villa there is a lagoon, or an arm of the river, which at present is completely dry; the path goes over an artificial dike which is interrupted at one point by a bridge so as to provide an outlet for the water. After running aground once more and being pried off, we continued down the river and got to a stretch full of white caps, where the wind was so strong that the boat started to roll. The canoe, which was tied on, got loose and much time and effort were consumed in recovering it. The weather was overcast and rain seemed to threaten; at noon the temperature was 25°C, but owing to the strong wind it seemed much cooler (see figs.93-94, p.267).

We arrived at Sant'Anna after two o'clock; it is a small place on the left bank, built on soil that is sandy on the heights, whereas the beach is full of pebbles and empty shells of Melania. It comprises some fifty houses, almost all of them of adobe. Here, like in other places we passed, there is a small lace industry which can only give meager returns. Here we tried the celebrated grapes of Juazeiro for the first time. They are elongated and fleshy, become purple when ripe, and are similar to what is erroneously called “muscatel” in Brazil. The ripe ones were good.

Some time later, the boat, which had got stuck inside the port, was lifted off and we went on again. The next stretch of the river is full of boulders and cascades; only a narrow channel, mostly artificial, is fit for navigation. We tied alongside below this stretch and I went back in the canoe with my servant and two sailors. We managed to reach some of the boulders in the rapids. There were many Podostemenocea of two kinds, and on them I found the pupae of S. amazonicum in good number and without admixture of other species. While the sailors amused themselves catching “pacus” with the throw-net, I collected a good many specimens. This was the first breeding place of the “pium” that I had found in this zone, except for the one in the Das Ondias River, now quite far away. It seems obvious that the adults spread from this breeding site over the extensive area that they cover and that is devoid of suitable places for the development of the larvae. On my return, I worked late so as to make use of the material collected.

June 26. Again we left at 5:40 a.m. The landscape is very interesting. On the right side rises the Serra da Cachoeira, composed of very light-colored rocks; to the right there is an island. Navigation remains difficult. There are still many boulders and a very narrow channel; only half-steam can be used. After entering the great river, there are still many islets and reefs. At one place a tall rock covered with bromeliads rises right out of the bed; this is a perfect counterpart of many of the hills we have seen of late.

Slightly below this island, the boulders cease and the river, now broad and placid, wends its way through a plain covered with trees. Both the margins are partly in cultivation, especially the right one. Grass, corn, beans, cassava, sweet potatoes, etc. grow on the formerly inundated ground. We passed a place called Pau de História (History Log), which is on the left bank and in the state of Pernambuco. It started to drizzle but not enough even to wet the deck. At 7 a.m. we passed Lagoa, where there was a carefully tended plantation and also some diseased grapevines, probably with brown rot. Below this point the riverbed is once again obstructed by boulders.

At 9 o'clock we saw the town of Petrolina on the left bank and soon after, Juazeiro on the right one. We sailed round a bit so as to get a good view of both towns and then stopped in front of the railway station of Juazeiro at 9:20 a.m. After luncheon we went ashore to the post office and telegraph station, and to visit the engineer of the “Inspectoria de Obras Contra a Seca;” we were also invited to the house of our captain and that of a colleague, where we asked for and got useful information. The town is large and makes a good impression, which would be even better if the streets were paved and the houses a little taller. It suffered a good deal from the flood of 1906 and not all the damage has been repaired as yet. The best building is the railway station, which is far superior to any other building seen on the whole voyage.

The weather was rainy all day and the wind blew continuously. After so many days of fine weather, we felt that we were really being accorded a cold reception. The residents, however, were kinder than the weather. In the captain's house we again tried the grapes of Juazeiro, but these were riper and very good. We were also offered excellent mangoes. We slept onboard.

June 27. Today the weather is a little better but still rather depressing. Yesterday we had already begun to prepare for moving out of our quarters on the ship and the preparations went on today, though most of the time was spent on correspondence, which had to leave by the mixed passenger and cargo train. There are two of these a week, alternating with fast trains. The latter take two and the former three days to reach the capital of the State of Bahia, but it is true that they only travel in daylight. At 6:40 we went to the station to meet the incoming train, on which several persons were expected but they did not all arrive.

June 28. I went early to the Experimental Station, now called Horto Florestal, where I found Mr. Albert Loefgren, the botanist, and saw the cultures. In the afternoon we examined the plants I had collected during the journey, so as to determine at least the families; I also browsed the books found at the Horto.

June 29. We started out early with Mr. Loefgren for an excursion to the Serra da Primavera or Ribeirão do Sal, about two leagues away. It is a steep hill, composed of granite or gneiss, about 200 ms. high and very like the one we had climbed at Trahiras. There is a view over a wide plain with a burnt and desolate aspect, brightened only by the profile of the serras on the skyline. Our path crossed a stretch covered by “canudos,” i.e., Ipomoea fistulosa, and then through very arid campo or savannah in which most of the shrubs had already shed their leaves. With few exceptions, the flora is composed of species we had been finding recently.

June 30. In the morning I visited the picturesque island llha do Fogo, which lies between the towns, almost in the middle. I went in a sailing boat, called a “packet” here. The island has very characteristic vegetation; with some difficulty we climbed the rock that supports the iron poles on which the telegraph line is fastened. We greatly enjoyed the view of the two towns, the river and the distant lagoons. As for the mineral riches supposed to be extant here, either our predecessors must have taken them away or we did not allow enough time for the search. When the time comes to connect the two towns by bridge, this island will be useful.

On the way back, we lunched at the house of Mr. Gaget, one of the engineers of the Inspectoria of Public Works against Drought. We saw a young and very tame armadillo, “tatu-bola,” which came when called and was fed on milk. Afterwards we crossed the river with Mr. Gaget and climbed the tower by the church so as to get a good view of Petrolina. The town is formed of three fine streets, but in spite of its being Sunday nothing stirred. The shore of the river is partly covered with pebbles and is partly of rock. In the bed, there were some rather distant blackish boulders, which are exposed just now, but which must be submerged in times of flood. We returned to the hotel and later went to the station to await the resident engineer of the railway and the Director of the Horto Florestal, Mr. Zehntner, who had traveled over the region of Xiquexique studying maniçoba shortly before (see figs.95-96, p.271)

July 1. Today we were offered two live “tatu-bola,” which seem common in this region. They have only three girdles and the tail is short. When they roll up, they form a ball about the size of a coconut with the husk left on. On the same day a mandi fish (Pimelodus clari) also turned up at the hotel; we photographed it because it was the largest we had seen during the journey. I spent the morning in the Hotel and the afternoon in the Horto Florestal.

The pathology of the place offers nothing worth studying, so we decided not to remain any longer. We spent the day preparing for the journey and making our farewells. We had thirty pieces of baggage.

July 2. At 6 o'clock we took the train and arrived at Villa Nova (Bonfim Station) at noon, 30 minutes late. The trip was pleasant and we did not suffer either from heat or dust. First one crosses a vast savannah covered with “caatinga,” most of which has already shed its leaves. Next come arid serras covered with loose stones, which mostly look like crystalline rock. Here the cactus family, especially the genus Cereus, predominates. As one approaches Villa Nova, the vegetation becomes more lush.

The hills to the right, which are the beginning of the Serra de Jacobina, are quite green and form a veritable oasis in the desert.

We were received at the station by the Engineer Manoel Arrojado Lisboa, in charge of the Third Section of the Inspectoria de Obras Contra a Seca, with whom we lunched. After that, I accompanied him on an excursion on horseback to a place in the serra where he proposes to build a dam across a stream; there I found much interesting material of Simulium and one Ceratopogonid. The flora also comprises some species I had not seen before (see figs.97-99, p.272-75).

July 3. In the morning it drizzled. Later we took an excursion to the serra but got only as far as a small dam which had been built by the Railway Company and where I collected a little material. We had to rush back because of a rainstorm and we arrived at the Hotel soaked through. Later, the weather improved and we went out again to the same stream as yesterday, but were only able to reach lower points. In a place called Cachoeirinha, I got some blackfly material. After reaching the station of Cariaçá, we returned to town already after dark.

July 4. In the morning it rained once more. We remained in the hotel and attended to several things. Trypanosomes were found in the blood of the animals experimentally inoculated with that of the horses suffering from torce, or peste de cadeiras. Here, as in Juazeiro, there are Stegomyia in the hotel and in private houses, so that these two places which are joined by railway [sic].

July 5. Today it rained a good deal but we went out in the afternoon to the serra and caught a number of Simulium on the horses.

July 6. The weather is still rainy. We got ready to continue our journey.

July 7. We left at 6 o'clock. Near Itiuba we passed some serras of eruptive rock where many cacti grow. We stopped at Queimados, which became known through the “civil-war of Canudos” and then crossed the diamond-bearing river Itapicuru, which was not quite dry. We spent the night at Santa Luzia, a place as devoid of interest as the plain on which it is situated. It was raining and the night was very dark.

July 8. We left at 5 in the morning and at 1 p.m. we arrived in Alagoinhas. Here there were no more signs of drought. We talked to the resident doctors. In this zone the barbeiros reappear, though they are not frequent. Trypanosomiasis cannot be very common, but we suspected the presence of isolated cases. I went out and collected some Simuliid material and found the pupae of an undescribed species, which I had already collected at S. Felix, in the same state of Bahia in 1911 (see figs.100-01, p.276.

July 9. We went for an excursion to the Mata de São João, where barbeiros had been found by some colleagues from Bahia. We were delayed by engine trouble. We talked to the local doctor and pharmacist, but the houses indicated by the latter as infested by barbeiros were too far away for us to reach. We requested that specimens be forwarded to us.

A telegram arrived, saying that there would be a good ship for Rio on the 13th th or 14, so we decided to give up further excursions and go to the state capital.

July 10. We left Alagoinhas at 5:25, arrived in Bahia before 11 a.m. and had quite a long trip to the hotel. There we found Dr. J. Pires do Rio, chief engineer of the third Section of the Commission. I used the afternoon for some much needed shopping.

July 11. We stayed in town, where we saw several interesting patients and the private museum of Dr. Alpheu Diniz.

July 14. We went on board the “Itapura.”

July 16. The ship stopped in Victoria.

July 17. A little after 3 o'clock we docked in Rio (see fig.102, p.283). Note: For lists of bloodsucking Diptera and other zoological groups collected by Lutz, see Portuguese text p.277.

 

Notes on Culicidae

The mosquito fauna observed during the journey is much poorer than that seen round the capital city, Rio de Janeiro. This is due, in the first place, to the absence of the species breeding exclusively in bromeliads and bamboos.

The marsh species and others not specialized for the habitats just mentioned were also not numerous, which is partly accounted for by the unfavorable season and by the restrictions derived from our mode of travel; even so, many species that are common elsewhere seem to be lacking in the zone of the São Francisco River. The flooded area is undoubtedly very extensive, but the permanent lagoons are relatively few and, besides this, many aquatic larvae cannot withstand the high temperatures reached by the waters of some lagoons, which are exposed to intense and prolonged sunlight. The long period of drought must be even more harmful to the adults, as most of them can only survive in slightly damp air.

We fished a number of times in lagoons whose vegetation was indicative of a permanent régime. Nevertheless, the species found were also not numerous and they were the same as those that occur in certain stretches of the rivers, where the water stagnates and the flora is the same as that of the lagoons. We also tried catching mosquitoes on the edges of the lagoons, both in daytime and at night, or by passing the nets over the vegetation along the banks. Great attention was paid to the mosquitoes that came on board, either in daytime or at night, when they are attracted by the lights. As the boat was moored to the bank almost every evening, we ought to have been able to make collections of mosquitoes as large as those of other insects, were it not for the fact that the mosquito fauna is indeed poor.

The larvae found in the lagoons and the rivers belonged to the following genera: Cellia, Mansonia, Melanoconion, Uranotaenia and Aedomyia, as shown by their morphology and by raising them to adults. The larvae of Aedomyia squammipennis, which were not yet known, can easily be distinguished because they have a large air sac at the base of the antenna. Uranotaenia larvae resemble those of the Anophelines, but the respiratory tube is short and they are apt to hang down somewhat when at the surface of the water. They have four bristles on the clypeus, in two pairs, and these are very characteristic.

The larvae of Mansonia, which I discovered many years ago, together with those of Taeniorhynchus, can only live in water with some vegetation on the surface. Both have atrophied respiratory tubes and well-developed bristles on the antennae. The former larvae are brown and the latter red. When raising them, the superficial vegetation can be substituted by strands of cotton.

We kept on finding Cellia argyrotarsis during the whole journey and sometimes the boat was practically invaded by this species when at port. It may well be indicated as responsible for the malaria of this region. At Xiquexique we had the opportunity to observe it being transported by the wind, under exceptionally good circumstances. Cellia albiamana was found in some lagoons, but comparatively speaking it is quite rare. Mansonia titillans occasionally came on board and so did some Uranotaenia and Aedomyia. We caught the males of the first by collecting at night, with artificial light, at the edges of lagoons. In daytime, they can be obtained by sweeping the net over the vegetation surrounding the lagoons. Uranotaenia pulcherrima was often observed but Uranotaenia geometrica only seldom. These mosquitoes rarely bite human beings, though we found that they do not lack mandibles. The opposite is true of Culex cingulatus and Aedomyia squammipennis, as I was able to ascertain during this journey. The former was raised from larvae found in a lagoon at Burity das Mulatas, in the state of Minas Gerais.

We obtained an apparently new species of Melanoconion. Culex fatigans and Stegomyia fasciata were very abundant on the boat, where we found them breeding in the holds.

 

Terrestrial and freshwater mollusks collected

during the voyage. identified by dr. H. von

Ihering, director of Museu de São Paulo (see list

p.280-81)

1 – Glabaris moricandi. Grande River.

2 – Diplodon rotundus Spix. Lower São Francisco river.

3 – Ampullaria lineata Wagner. Common in São Francisco

lagoons.

4 – Hemisinus spica Ih. Lower São Francisco. Common in Vila

Nova.

5 – Bulimula pachys Pilsbry. Traíra B. Many empty shell in the

serras.

6 – Streptocheilus oblongus. Morrinho. Many empty shells.

7 – Odontostomus spec. Januária. Many empty shells along the

edge of one of its lagoons.

8 – Stenogyra spec. A specimen from the same place.

 

Fishes of São Francisco river (determined by

Alípio de Miranda Ribeiro, 1913)

See list p.280-82

 

Note on the freshwater sponges observed in

tributaries of the São Francisco river In the Carinhanha River, and later in the Grande River, we found freshwater sponges in the months of June and July. They were then all dead, completely desiccated and attached to the roots and branches of shrubs, always more than a meter above the water, which had not yet fallen to its lowest level. In times of flood, i.e., for periods of about five months, they must be submerged, at a shallow depth and in a moderate current. In shape, they are round or oval; the largest diameter observed was between 15 and 20 cm with a smallest diameter of 12 cms. at most. The color is blackish when the specimens are not covered by a crust of yellowish-white clay. The structure is rigid, but as these sponges are very porous, they resemble termite mounds and are very light in weight. The alveolar skeleton is formed of trabecules, which are not more than a few and generally not quite one millimeter thick. They end in short points, branched like the antlers of deer; the distance between them rarely surpasses or even attains one millimeter. These sponges contain an enormous number of round gemmules, also not exceeding one millimeter in diameter, and lacking only between the peripheral tips. At larger intervals, the surface is interrupted by oscula, or canal openings, from one to two centimeters in diameter.

If the sponge is placed in water, a large number of gemmules are flushed out and float on the surface. The majority, however, remain inside, where in life they must give rise to a new free generation. The large size of these sponges cannot be reached in one short season of four or five months. Unfortunately, our attempts to obtain germination were entirely unsuccessful.

Under the microscope, the skeleton is seen to be composed of non-ramified, cylindrical, generally somewhat curved needles with subconic, somewhat rounded tips at both ends. In the gemmules, they are from 0.07 to 0.08 mm long with a width of 0.005 mm; both ends are pointed and they are covered with thin spines.

These characteristics seem to indicate an undescribed species of Spongilla. There is a species of freshwater sponge in the Amazons system that does not belong to this genus. Ours might be called S. franciscana, as until now it appears to be known only from the system of the São Francisco River.

 

Jararaca from Santa Maria do Rio Corrente in the

state of Bahia

Lachesis lutzi

Alípio de Miranda Ribeiro

Head relatively small, short; snout also short, equal to half the ½ occiput, slightly turned up. Scales of head and body strongly keeled, those on the upper part of the vertex of the snout larger than those on the occiput; keel extensive to the whole length of the scales. Five series between the supraocular scales, 23 rows on the body; 180 ventral, 40 subcaudal, in two rows. Rostral heptagonal, loreal separated from the labial, large supraocular scales; two series of scales between the eyes and the labials; nasal divided; the three scales in the middle of the diameter separating the supraocular scales also larger than surrounding ones. Upper labials 8. Color an earthy brown, like that of the rattlesnake, Crotalus terrificus, above, with an indefinite, light-bay-colored zigzag, sometimes forming lozenges and at other times interrupted into isolated spots; scales of the lower surface diffusely spotted in brown, with a light border. Snout dark, no post-ocular spot, this region rather lighter. Labial scales lighter in the center, more markedly so on the lower lip. Body scales with a light stripe on the keel, producing a very distinctive pattern.

Additional Note by A. Lutz: After comparison with the description, the figures and a specimen of Lachesis pictus in the Museu Nacional, it does not seem to me that the Lachesis from Santa Maria can be affiliated to it. Ours has a completely different pattern, which, though very variegated, is imprecise, because the colors are all blended together on most of the scales and on the shields. The shape of the head also differs considerably and, to judge by Boulenger's indication, it is larger. Moreover, the finding place does not favor identity either.

 

Mammals and birds collected by Adolpho Lutz

See list p.285-88.

Hand-written note by Adolpho Lutz which is also the beginning of the

travel report published in Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.

Anotação manuscrita de Adolpho Lutz que corresponde ao início do

relatório de viagem publicado nas Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo

Cruz. (BR. MN. Fundo Adolpho Lutz, caixa 35, pasta 244, maço 5).

 

* Adolpho Lutz and Astrogildo Machado's expedition inspected the São Francisco River Valley between April and June of 1912. In 1915, the report was published in Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (v.7, n.1, p.5-50, 18 engraved plates), only in Portuguese. Bertha Lutz translated it into English. In revising it, the editors of this book updated the spelling of scientific names. See maps, p.171-1. [E.N.]

1 Square brackets [] indicate names that Bertha Lutz added to the present edition. [E.N.]

2 It was determined in 1952 by Dr. Burton of the British Museum Natural History as Parmelia batesi. [Bertha Lutz's note]

3 Paepalanthus amoenus, det, Moldenke, 1954. [Bertha Lutz's note]

4 In the state of São Paulo. [Bertha Lutz's note]

5 There is a Tillandsia streptocarpa from Lapa in Lutz's herbarium. [Bertha Lutz's note]

6 Lachesis Lutzi Mir. Rib. [Bertha Lutz's note]

7 Encholirium lutzii L.B.Smith, 1956. [Bertha Lutz's note]

8 In the original publication, there is no entry for 24 May and two entries for 31 May. [E.N.]