Didelphis aurita is an abundant South American didelphid. Chromatic disorders are rare and scarcely known in marsupials. We report and describe the occurrence of xanthochromism (yellowish coloration) in D. aurita, being the first record of this anomaly for opossums. The emergence of the xanthochromism correlated with the anthropogenic stress in urban-sylvatic interface suggests that chromatic disorders may serve as useful bioindicators of the health of wildlife in disturbed environments.

Mustelidae is the largest and most diverse family within the order Carnivora, encompasses 65 species and 22 genera, and is widely distributed around the world. Mustelids exhibit a multiplicity of coloration patterns, ranging from darker tones, such as black and brown, to lighter tones, such as pale yellow and white. Anomalous colorations in wild mustelids are occasionally reported, but these records are still poorly discussed in the scientific literature and are often subject to misidentification and/or incorrect terminology. Among mustelids, the Tayra, Eira barbara, is suggested to have the highest frequency of chromatic disorders reported in the formal scientific literature, although most cases involve hypopigmentation. Here, we report and describe the first case of a reddish-colored tayra, a rare chromatic disorder known as erythrism, and compare their coloration to that observed in the subspecies currently suggested for E. barbara. We also conducted a survey and a review of chromatic variants in mustelids based on the formal scientific literature, reporting 119 anomalously colored individuals from 1890 to 2024, and proposed accurate terminology for misidentified cases. Additionally, we discuss the occurrence of these chromatic disorders on a global scale and their potential ecological effect on wild mustelids.

The southern tamandua, Tamandua tetradactyla (Linnaeus, 1758), is the most common species of anteater. Even though much is known about its ecology, behavior, and parasites, there is very limited information about bone diseases in Tamandua and other anteaters. Here, we examined postcranial skeletons of 64 T. tetradactyla museum specimens covering most of the material available in Brazilian collections. The following bone diseases were identified for the first time in Tamandua and other extant and fossil vermilinguans: osteophytes, osteitis, osteoarthritis, periostitis, exostoses, enthesopathies, and a severe chronic pyogenic osteomyelitis associated with fistulae, cloacae (pus), bone loss, and neoformation processes. Musculoskeletal reconstruction revealed that an old specimen was restricted to terrestrial locomotion due to osteopathological processes that impaired its climbing. New osteopathological informations are presented for T. tetradactyla, favoring a better understanding of the expression of some bone diseases in wild animals. In addition, the diagnosis of these bone diseases in living anteaters provides useful information for studies on animal health and welfare, as well as contributing to the more effective recognition of paleodiseases in fossil xenarthrans.

FIRST REPORT AND DESCRIPTION OF MELANISM AND ALBINISM IN GIANT ANTEATER, MYRMECOPHAGA TRIDACTYLA (XENARTHRA, MYRMECOPHAGIDAE)

The evolution of the human species is a topic of extreme importance reported in the “Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais do Ensino Médio – PCNEM” (National Curriculum Standards of Secondary Education), although it is not often taught as part of basic education. This work presents the results of an experimental work performed with 31 students of a religious high school of State of Rio de Janeiro. Learning proficiency was assessed by using two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) illustration techniques of hominids skulls and a Pongidae for teaching Human Evolution. The teaching-learning process using these methodologies was more effective with the application of three-dimensional (3D) illustration techniques. The group of students that used 3D illustrations were able to observe similarities and differences between the presented taxonomic models, and formulate hypotheses about their palaeobiology more consistently than the students that used 2D models. Results of this work indicate that the use of three-dimensional techniques (3D) provides an excellent support to teaching-learning process in basic education, captivating and stimulating new interests of students during the educational process.