Dear Colleagues, I am pleased to announce the following paper recently published in Marine Biodiversity Records. Body weight/length relationship and mass estimation using morphometric measurements in Amazonian manatees Trichechus inunguis (Mammalia: Sirenia) Rodrigo S. Amaral, Vera M.F. da Silva and Fernando C.W. Rosas Vol. 3, e105, 1-4. Abstract This study defined the body weight/length relationship and an equation for body mass estimation using morphometric measurements on Amazonian manatees Trichechus inunguis (Mammalia: Sirenia). Total length (TL), maximum girth (MG) and body mass (M) were obtained from 91 captive Amazonian manatees (46 males and 45 females) of different ages, and TL and M were obtained from eight free-ranging Amazonian manatees (6 males and 2 females). The data were analysed by linear and multiple linear regressions. The maximum length and mass measured were 266.5 cm and 379.5 kg, respectively. The equation for body weight/length relationship was M = 0.00001070 * TL^3.122 (r^2 = 0.984) (Equation I) and no differences between sexes and between captive and free-ranging animals were found (P > 0.05). We calculated two more equations for mass estimation (Equation II: M = 0.00003284 * TL^1.857 * MG^1.106, r^ 2 = 0.992; and Equation III: M = 1.506 + 0.00003477 * TL * MG^2, r^2 = 0.995), and the best equation (high correlation coefficient and low percentage of residues) was Equation III. Equation I provides the body condition of manatees, whereas Equation III is more accurate for estimating body mass. Both equations are important tools for management of captive and free-ranging Amazonian manatees. This article is now available online at: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?iid=7089132 or upon request; please email rsamaral@usp.br Best regards, Rodrigo Amaral ---- Rodrigo de Souza Amaral., M.V., M.Sc. Laboratório de Dosagens Hormonais - LDH Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia - FMVZ Universidade de São Paulo - USP