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New species of the genera Havelockia and Thyone (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) and first record of T. crassidisca from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean
Abstract
Two new species in the genera Thyone and Havelockia are described and illustrated based upon specimens collected from off the southeastern Brazilian coast. Thyone florianoi sp. nov. is characterized by having two pillared body wall tables with four-holed discs and introvert with multilocular tables. Thyone crassidisca is recorded herein for the first time from the South Atlantic Ocean (Brazil). Havelockia mansoae sp. nov. is distinctive in having two pillared body wall tables with four-holed discs and introvert with plates. This is the first record of the genus Havelockia from Brazilian waters.
... Later, in the works of Clark (1919), Deichmann (1930), Ancona Lopez & Sawaya (1955), Ancona Lopez (1957), Cherbonnier (1961), Tommasi (1969Tommasi ( , 1971Tommasi ( , 1972Tommasi ( , 1974, Mondin (1973) and Tommasi et al. (1988), among others, more species were described. Recently, studies such as Campos et al. (2010), Martins et al. (2012aMartins et al. ( , 2012b, Martins & Souto (2015, 2018, Martins & Tavares (2018), Miranda et al. (2012Miranda et al. ( , 2015, Prata et al. (2014aPrata et al. ( , 2014b, and Prata & Christoffersen (2016 improved the state of knowledge on Holothuroidea from Brazil. The current work reports 24 species to shallow waters along the northeastern coast of Brazil; of these two are new for science thyone brasiliana sp. ...
... North Carolina, Florida, eastern Gulf of Mexico (Pawson et al. 2010) and Brazil (from Paraíba to São Paulo). This species was found between 4-45 m deep (Pawson et al. 2010;Martins & Tavares 2018). Our material was found between 10-20 m deep. ...
... nov. differs from thyone florianoi Martins & Tavares, 2018 by the calcareous ring morphology, absence of rosettes in the introvert, short spire of the body wall tables, ending in four teeth, supporting tables from tube feet with short spire, ending in three to four teeth, and tentacles with rods, rosettes and plates. thyone brasiliana sp. ...
The study presents a review of the Dendrochirotida species from shallow waters of the northeastern coast of Brazil. A total of 1,268 specimens were analyzed and 24 species were recorded, which were classified into 16 genera of Cucumariidae, Psolidae, Phyllophoridae, and Sclerodactylidae. Detailed descriptions and figures of the taxonomic characters are provided to facilitate species identification. Notes on morphological variation, geographic distribution, and habitat are also provided. We suggest two new species for science, Thyone brasiliana sp. nov. and Havelockia nietae sp. nov., the new combination Parathyone braziliensis (Verrill, 1868) and the first record of Euthyonidiella trita (Sluiter, 1910) for the Brazilian coast. The bathymetric ranges are expanded for Coronatum baiensis, Euthyonidiella trita, Stolus cognatus, and Thyonidium seguroensis.
... Later, in the works of Clark (1919), Deichmann (1930), Ancona Lopez & Sawaya (1955), Ancona Lopez (1957), Cherbonnier (1961), Tommasi (1969Tommasi ( , 1971Tommasi ( , 1972Tommasi ( , 1974, Mondin (1973) and Tommasi et al. (1988), among others, more species were described. Recently, studies such as Campos et al. (2010), Martins et al. (2012aMartins et al. ( , 2012b, Martins & Souto (2015, 2018, Martins & Tavares (2018), Miranda et al. (2012Miranda et al. ( , 2015, Prata et al. (2014aPrata et al. ( , 2014b, and Prata & Christoffersen (2016 improved the state of knowledge on Holothuroidea from Brazil. The current work reports 24 species to shallow waters along the northeastern coast of Brazil; of these two are new for science thyone brasiliana sp. ...
... North Carolina, Florida, eastern Gulf of Mexico (Pawson et al. 2010) and Brazil (from Paraíba to São Paulo). This species was found between 4-45 m deep (Pawson et al. 2010;Martins & Tavares 2018). Our material was found between 10-20 m deep. ...
... nov. differs from thyone florianoi Martins & Tavares, 2018 by the calcareous ring morphology, absence of rosettes in the introvert, short spire of the body wall tables, ending in four teeth, supporting tables from tube feet with short spire, ending in three to four teeth, and tentacles with rods, rosettes and plates. thyone brasiliana sp. ...
p align="justify">O estudo apresenta a primeira lista de espécies de holotúrias para a costa do Estado da Paraíba, região nordeste do Brasil. A lista de espécies foi elaborada com base no estudo de espécimes depositados na coleção de Invertebrados Paulo Young, Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Um total de 16 espécies pertencentes a sete famílias foram registradas. Dessa forma, contribuímos para os estudos de biodiversidade da costa nordeste do Brasil.
Palavras chave : Pepinos-do-mar, Taxonomia, nordeste do Brasil, Oceano Atlântico.
Abstract : The study presents the first species list for holothurians from the coast of the State of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. The list was made based on the study of specimens deposited in the Invertebrate Collection Paulo Young, Federal University of Paraíba. A total of 16 species from seven families of Holothuroidea were recorded. This paper contributes to the biodiversity studies from the northeast coast of Brazil.
Key words : Sea cucumbers, Taxonomy, northeastern Brazil, Atlantic Ocean.</p
... The taxonomic composition and faunal similarities of the southwestern Atlantic and Magellanic region holothurian fauna are still poorly understood as a result of a combination of factors, which include insufficient sampling efforts and limited taxonomic study. Relationship with the fauna of Southwestern and Magellanic region are fragmentary and based on a few scattered records (e.g., Martins & Souto, 2015;Martins & Tavares 2018b;Martinez et al., 2013;Martinez, 2016). The available information points to a strong relationship with the Caribbean holothurian fauna (Hendler et al., 1995), although this proposed affinity is yet largely unexplored. ...
The taxonomy of the southeastern Brazilian species of Psolus is reviewed and two new species described. Additionally, P.vitoriaeisredescribedbasedonanewlydesignatedneotypeandsupplementalmaterialfromthetypelocalityandnearby regions. The synonymy of P. marcusi with P. patagonicus is called into question. The calcareous ring is useful for distin- guishing between some Psolus species. Psolus tommasi sp. nov. is characterized by having five oral valves, an anus cov- ered by a variable number of small, irregular anal valves, oral and anal valves distinct from body wall scales, calcareous ring interradial plates entire, calcareous ring simple, without posterior processes; radial and interradial plates entire, dorsal ossicles spheroid bodies and sole ossicles knobbed and smooth perforated plates. Psolus thandari sp. nov. is characterized by granules on body scales; mouth surrounded by five to seven triangular valves of equal size; anus surrounded by a vari- able number of small and irregular anal valves that grade into surrounding scales; calcareous ring with interradial plates entire. Six species of Psolus are known from the southwestern Atlantic and Magellanic region: P. vitoriae (São Paulo, Bra- zil); P. patagonicus (Mar del Plata to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina; Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn); P. segregatus (Pa- tagonia, Argentina; Strait of Magellan, Chile; Hikurangi Margin and Chatham Rise, New Zealand); P. antarcticus (Magellanic region; South Georgia Island, southern Atlantic Ocean; Macquarie Island and Ridge, New Zealand); P. law- rencei (Mar del Plata, Argentina) and Psolus murrayi Théel, 1886 (Montevideo, Uruguay). A key to the species of Psolus from the southwestern Atlantic and Magellanic region, and a synoptic table to all southern Atlantic Psolus species is provided.
... The fragmentation level of these plates has been used to separate the Sclerodactylidae (plates are unbroken) and the Phyllophoridae (plates are broken into subdivisions) (Pawson & Fell, 1965), but the subdivisions are often difficult to visualize resulting in the misclassification of species. The iodine treatment used herein and by Martins & Tavares (2018) improves the observation of such subdivisions and has proven to be a very useful technique to analyse the morphology of the calcareous ring. Thandar (2001) analysed the relationship between the morphology of the calcareous ring and the introvert ossicles in Thyone but he found no correlation. ...
Thyone and Havelockia are worldwide-distributed genera represented in the Western Atlantic by eight and three species, respectively. In this paper, we describe two new shallow-water species from the Brazilian coast: Thyone waltinhoi sp. nov. and Havelockia oraneae sp. nov. These genera are very similar morphologically but the presence of subdivisions in their calcareous rings separates them into different families, Thyone in Phyllophoridae and Havelockia in Sclerodactylidae. To observe the presence of subdivisions, we submerged the calcareous rings in an iodine solution prior to morphological analyses. Thyone waltinhoi sp. nov. differs from its Western Atlantic congeners in its dermal ossicles and Havelockia oraneae sp. nov. differs from its South-western Atlantic congeners in the composition of its introvert ossicles. In addition to species descriptions, illustrations and morphological diagnoses of both genera are provided, along with a synoptic table of their Western Atlantic species, and a discussion of the taxonomic significance of the dermal ossicles and the calcareous ring.
... Recently, the knowledge on the taxonomic diversity of the family Sclerodactylidae Panning, 1949(sensu Thandar, 1989 has been extended by the discovery of new species and genera (e.g., Martinez & Brogger, 2012;Martins et al., 2012;Martinez et al., 2013;Martins & Souto, 2015;Martins & Tavares, 2018). Opportunity is taken here to further elaborate on the taxonomy of the sclerodactylids, describing and illustrating a new genus and species for this family and assigning Neopentamera anexigua Deichmann, 1941 to the subfamily Sclerothyoninae. ...
Paulayellus gustavi, a new sclerodactylid genus and species, is described from the Pacific coast of Panama. The new genus and species is assigned to the subfamily Sclerothyoninae based on a suite of characters, which include the radial and interradial plates of the calcareous ring united at the base only. Paulayellus gen. nov. differs from the other Sclerothyoninae genera in having posterior processesof radial plates undivided. Additionally, differs from Sclerothyone, Thandarum and Neopentamera in having knobbed buttons, plates and cups in the body wall (whereas the body wall is furnished only with tables and plates in Sclerothyone, Temparena and Thandarum, and only with knobbed buttons and plates in Neopentamera). The new genus is, so far, monotypic. The also monotypic genus Neopentamera proved to have the radial and the interradial plates of the calcareous ring united at the base only, as typically found in the Sclerothyoninae, and is therefore transferred to that subfamily. The discovery of a new genus in the Sclerothyoninae and the transfer of Neopentamera required the amendation of the diagnosis for the subfamily. A key to the Sclerothyoninae is given.
Intraspecific variation of the gross morphology of the retractor muscle was studied in 60 specimens of Parathyone braziliensis and 17 specimens of Thyonidium seguroensis. Specimens were dissected to expose the retractor muscle or were analyzed by micro-computed tomography. Early expectations that the point of origin of the retractor muscle at the longitudinal muscle relative to the midpoint of the body length was age-related and that the split of the retractor muscle into separate muscle bands could be used as taxonomic characters to separate species were not supported by anatomical evidence.
Intraspecific variation of the gross morphology of the retractor muscle was studied in 60 specimens of Parathyone braziliensis and 17 specimens of Thyonidium seguroensis . Specimens were dissected to expose the retractor muscle or were analyzed by micro-computed tomography. Early expectations that the point of origin of the retractor muscle at the longitudinal muscle relative to the midpoint of the body length was age-related and that the split of the retractor muscle into separate muscle bands could be used as taxonomic characters to separate species were not supported by anatomical evidence.
The types of nominal species of Echinodermata in the collection of the Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo are catalogued: Holothuroidea (19 species-16 holotypes, 1 paratype and 2 neotypes) and Ophiuroidea (4 species-1 neotype and 3 paratypes). Photographs of all the type specimens are given. A brief account of the history of the MZUSP's echinoderm collections is presented.
Fifteen dendrochirotid holothurians, including four new species, were collected from the Seto Inland Sea and the western part of the Sea of Japan, western Japan by the training and research vessel (TR/V) TOYOSHIO MARU of Hiroshima University, during the 2014–15 surveys. Massinium toyoshiomaruae sp. nov., Thyone kyushuensis sp. nov., T. liaoi sp. nov., and T. toyoshiomaruae sp. nov. are described as new species. Massinium toyoshiomaruae sp. nov. is readily distinguishable from all congeners by the absence of bodywall ossicles and the presence of table ossicles in the tentacle base. Thyone kyushuensis sp. nov. possesses large polyporous-tables in the introvert and tentacles, bodywall ossicles of a peculiar shape, and tentacle ossicles comprised mostly of unbranching rods and/or rod-like rosettes, which differ from those of all congeners. Thyone liaoi sp. nov. resembles T. pedata Semper, 1867 in its bodywall ossicles, however, it is distinguishable by the absences of huge ossicles in the body wall and the needle-shaped ossicles in the gonadal tubules. Thyone toyoshiomaruae sp. nov. is distinguishable from all other Thyone by the presence of the peculiar shape of the bodywall ossicles. Partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene are provided from the type specimens of the new species as DNA barcoding data.
Two new species, Psolidium nanoplax and Psolidium lonchostinum, are described from the southeastern
Brazilian coast, from 44 and 200–258 meters deep, respectively. This is the first record of the genus
Psolidium from Brazil. Psolidium nanoplax sp. nov. superficially resembles its Atlantic and Magellanic
congeners, P. disciformis (Théel, 1886), P. dorsipes Ludwig, 1886, and P. prostratum Pawson & Valentine,
1981, but it can be readily distinguished from these by a combination of characters of the sole ossicles
and by the absence of midventral tube feet. Psolidium lonchostinum n. sp. stands apart from all Atlantic
and Southern Ocean species (Atlantic sector), including Psolidium nanoplax sp. nov., in having branched
rods (thorn ossicles) and knobbed plates in the sole. A key and a synoptic table to all Atlantic and Southern Ocean (Atlantic sector) species of Psolidium is provided.
In this paper, data about ontogenetic variation of dermal ossicles in Pseudothyone belli, a species
widely distributed in the western Atlantic are provided. These data are important since juveniles
often lack many of the characters used to identify adult specimens and in some cases, they have
been described as separate species. The main differences between juveniles and adults are
related to the form of knobbed buttons in the body wall (adults). The juveniles have fourholed
and multilocular buttons, whereas the adults have only (or predominantly) four-holed
buttons. Additional differences are related to the plates, which are knobbed in juveniles and
smooth in adults. Although these ossicles are subject to wide variation, the ossicles from the
introvert and tentacles are quite consistent in both juveniles and adults. In addition, a new
species of Sclerodactylinae, collected along of the Brazilian coast is here described.
Havelockia smirnovi sp. nov. is characterized by having two pillared body wall tables; discs four-holed, with oval and undulating margins; spire often undeveloped or ending in fewteeth (2–4). Introvert with rosettes and two-pillared tables; table pillars united at the top and forming a cluster of teeth. Tentacles with rosettes and tube feet with two-pillared supportingtables, arched plates and end plates.
Ypsilothuria bitentaculata bitentaculata (Ludwig, 1893), previously known from several localities in the Pacific Ocean,
is recorded herein for the first time from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean based on eight specimens caught off the coast of
southeastern Brazil, between 505–511 m deep. Several morphological details are added to the description of Y. b. bitentaculata,
including photographs of specimens and calcareous ring plates, as well as scanning electron microscope images of the
ossicles from the body wall, oral and anal siphons and introvert. Additionally, Y. b. bitentaculata is compared to its congeners.
KEY WORDS. Sea cucumber, Dendrochirotida, Ypsilothuriidae, Brazil, deep-sea, REVIZEE.
The 2009 expedition with the research vessel Miriky sampled the sublittoral and bathyal waters of the northern Mozambique Channel. This exploration campaign resulted in a small, but very diverse collection of holothuroids comprising 174 specimens representing 31 species, 18 genera, 10 families and 5 orders. Of these species, many were hitherto unknown for Madagascar or even for the Indian Ocean, and six, Bathyplotes aymeric sp. nov., Holothuria (Cystipus) yann sp. nov., Holothuria (Stauropora) bo sp. nov., Holothuria (Metriatyla) alex sp. nov., Holothuria (Theelothuria) cyrielle sp.nov., Molpadia thandari sp. nov., are new to science. Molpadia lenticulum (Cherbonnier & Féral, 1981) is a new combination. This contribution provides an illustrated and annotated overview of the poorly known, highly biodiverse, sublittoral and bathyal sea cucumber fauna of the northern Mozambique Channel. Our findings demonstrate how ignorant we are about the poorly explored habitats of our planet and therefore stress the urgent need for more explorations to such regions.
Holothuria (Semperothuria) surinamensis Ludwig, 1875 (Holothuroidea: Holothuriidae) was recorded for the first time in northeastern Brazil, from reefs at Ponta Verde, Maceió Municipality, state of Alagoas, Brazil. The identified specimens are deposited in the Echinoderm Collection, Invertebrate Collection Paulo Young, Federal University of Paraíba.
Most species of Taeniogyrus Semper, 1867 are known from shallow water in the Indo-Pacific, with other records in Antarctica, Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic. A new species of Taeniogyrus is described and illustrated here from the continental slope of Campos Basin, southeast of Brazil. In this species, sigmoid hooks (336-405 µm) are much larger than in any other in the genus, bearing a long and conspicuous hook region. Wheels with six spokes (86-169 µm), inner margin with 60-125 continuous teeth, are confined to round papillae along each interradius. Polian vesicles are ventral, numerous (15-21), of different sizes, and tubular shaped with a terminal round region. This new species represents the deepest record of the genus Taeniogyrus. It increases to three the number of chiridotids in Brazilian waters, and the number of Taeniogyrus species in the Atlantic. Additionally, Taeniogyrus furcipraeditus (Salvini-Plawen, 1972) from the Mediterranean Sea and Taeniogyrus havelockensis (Rao, 1975) from the Andaman Sea are proposed as new combinations.
Latin America (LA) includes all countries in the Americas that speak Spanish or Portuguese; in total it includes 22 countries including Mexico, Central America, the islands of the Caribbean and South America and Haiti (Hispaniola Island, shared with Dominican Republic). This book is divided in 16 chapters and two taxonomic lists with information about presence/absence, bathymetric range and the habitat or substrate where the species have been found. Fourteen chapters deal with studies done in countries, regions or islands. The final chapter has a biogeographical and diversity analysis of the two taxonomic lists. Each country chapter contains six sections. 1. An introduction. 2. A historic account of the investigations on echinoderms. 3. Distributional patterns and diversity. 4. Fishery or aquaculture activities. 5. Threats to echinoderms, and 6. A final section with general conclusions from the review and recommendations for future research to meet the needs of each country. Latin American echinoderm studies started a long time ago, as far back as the 13th century. The most common threats to echinoderms are bad coastal planning, coastal pollution, illegal fisheries, inefficient fisheries management, lack of protection, and lack of baseline studies. A total of 1,539 species (21.8 % of the worldwide species) are included in the taxonomic lists (appendix), with 717 species in the Pacific and 926 in the Caribbean and Atlantic. The richest class is Ophiuroidea followed by Asteroidea. All classes have more species in the Caribbean and Atlantic than the Pacific.
Twenty-one ostracode species from Trindade Island and 23 species from Rocas Atoll are herein recorded. The collective fauna shows low richness and low abundance compared with other oceanic islands. Nevertheless, the presence of tropical pandemic species such as Kotarocythere inconspicua (Brady) and Triebelina sertata Triebel, of the almost exclusively Pacific genus Australimoosella, the Atlanto-Caribbean taxa such as Glyptobairdia coronata (Brady) and Caudites obliquecostatus Bold, together with species typical of the Brazilian shelf, reveals a mixed fauna likely influenced by dispersal of shallow-water taxa between seamounts during Quaternary sea-level lowstands. In contrast to other oceanic islands, endemic ostracode taxa are apparently absent in these two islands. Tenedocythere trindadensis sp. nov., a species also recorded on the Brazilian equatorial shelf, is described and illustrated.
Despite a strong increase in research on seamounts and oceanic islands ecology and biogeography, many basic aspects of their biodiversity are still unknown. In the southwestern Atlantic, the Vitória-Trindade Seamount Chain (VTC) extends ca. 1,200 km offshore the Brazilian continental shelf, from the Vitória seamount to the oceanic islands of Trindade and Martin Vaz. For a long time, most of the biological information available regarded its islands. Our study presents and analyzes an extensive database on the VTC fish biodiversity, built on data compiled from literature and recent scientific expeditions that assessed both shallow to mesophotic environments. A total of 273 species were recorded, 211 of which occur on seamounts and 173 at the islands. New records for seamounts or islands include 191 reef fish species and 64 depth range extensions. The structure of fish assemblages was similar between islands and seamounts, not differing in species geographic distribution, trophic composition, or spawning strategies. Main differences were related to endemism, higher at the islands, and to the number of endangered species, higher at the seamounts. Since unregulated fishing activities are common in the region, and mining activities are expected to drastically increase in the near future (carbonates on seamount summits and metals on slopes), this unique biodiversity needs urgent attention and management.
The endemism rates and the relationships between modes of development and endemism of shallow-water (<200 m) "prosobranch" gastropod assemblages from oceanic islands off Brazil (302 species) are assessed. Endemism rates are 5.1% (Fernando de Noronha), 8.1%(Atol das Rocas), 9.4% (Martin Vaz), and 16% (Trindade). When studied as "island groups" Rocas and Noronha (northern group) show a combined endemism rate of 19.2%,and Trindade and Martin Vaz (southern group) of 18.3%. To test the hypothesis that endemics are mostly species with non-planktotrophic development, the basic mode of development was determined for each species. Frequencies of each mode of development were analyzed for the two island groups. Non-planktotrophic species were more frequent among the insular endemics in both island groups when compared to the entire "prosobranch" faunas: frequencies of non-planktotrophic species at the northern and southern groups are,respectively, 84.2 and 71.4% for endemics, 60.1 and 51.7% for all species. In contrast to planktotrophic species, which have higher dispersal abilities, inception of insular endemism in non-planktotrophic species may be favored by effective reproductive isolation, offspring retention, and allopatric speciation in the absence of repeated arrivals on the isIands.
This is a taxonomic work on the aspidochirotid sea cucumbers from shallow waters in Northeast Brazil. We studied 165 specimens, classified into 2 families, 3 genera, 7 subgenera and 9 species. Descriptions, illustrations and literature data are included for each species, in addition to ecological notes and information on their distribution in the northeast coast of Brazil. A taxonomic key is provided for the identification of the species.
A summary account is given of the 33 holothurian species known from the South Atlantic Bight, from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, from the shore to a depth of 200 meters. Four of the six known orders of holothurians are represented in the study area. Each species is diagnosed and illustrated; citations of informative literature and brief discussions of distribution and general biology are included. Also included are dichotomous keys to aid in identification to the species level. A new genus is erected to accommodate Pseudocolochirus mysticus Deichmann, 1930. Ocnus pygmaeus (Théel, 1886b) and O. surinamensis (Semper, 1868) are referred to the genus Aslia Rowe, 1970.
In this paper we describe a new genus and a new species of Chiridotidae based on specimens collected in shallow water off the South-eastern Brazilian coast. Gymnopipina ikamiaba gen. nov. et sp. nov. is characterized by the complete absence of dermal ossicles in the body, and it differs from the other ossicleless apodids in the number of tentacles and of Polian vesicles, and in the morphology of the calcareous ring. Although not formally tested with a phylogenetic framework, apodids have apparently lost their dermal ossicles multiple times. If these reversions hold true, Gymnopipina gen. nov. represents the fourth independent loss of dermal ossicles in the class Holothuroidea. An identification key to the Brazilian apodid species is also provided.
The pantropical sea urchin genus Eucidaris contains four currently recognized species, all of them allopatric: E. metularia in the Indo-West Pacific, E. thouarsi in the eastern Pacific, E. tribuloides in both the western and eastern Atlantic, and E. clavata at the central Atlantic islands of Ascension and St. Helena. We sequenced a 640-bp region of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene of mitochondrial DNA to determine whether this division of the genus into species was confirmed by molecular markers, to ascertain their phylogenetic relations, and to reconstruct the history of possible dispersal and vicariance events that led to present-day patterns of species distribution. We found that E. metularia split first from the rest of the extant species of the genus. If COI divergence is calibrated by the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama, the estimated date of the separation of the Indo-West Pacific species is 4.7-6.4 million years ago. This date suggests that the last available route of genetic contact between the Indo-Pacific and the rest of the tropics was from west to east through the Eastern Pacific Barrier, rather than through the Tethyan Sea or around the southern tip of Africa. The second cladogenic event was the separation of eastern Pacific and Atlantic populations by the Isthmus of Panama. Eucidaris at the outer eastern Pacific islands (Galapagos, Isla del Coco, Clipperton Atoll) belong to a separate clade, so distinct from mainland E. thouarsi as to suggest that this is a different species, for which the name E. galapagensis is revived from the older taxonomic literature. Complete lack of shared alleles in three allozyme loci between island and mainland populations support their separate specific status. Eucidaris galapagensis and E. thouarsi are estimated from their COI divergence to have split at about the same time that E. thouarsi and E. tribuloides were being separated by the Isthmus of Panama. Even though currents could easily convey larvae between the eastern Pacific islands and the American mainland, the two species do not appear to have invaded each other's ranges. Conversely, the central Atlantic E. clavata at St. Helena and Ascension is genetically similar to E. tribuloides from the American and African coasts. Populations on these islands are either genetically connected to the coasts of the Atlantic or have been colonized by extant mitochondrial DNA lineages of Eucidaris within the last 200,000 years. Although it is hard to explain how larvae can cross the entire width of the Atlantic within their competent lifetimes, COI sequences of Eucidaris from the west coast of Africa are very similar to those of E. tribuloides from the Caribbean. FST statistics indicate that gene flow between E. metularia from the Indian Ocean and from the western and central Pacific is restricted. Low gene flow is also evident between populations of E. clavata from Ascension and St. Helena. Rates of intraspecific exchange of genes in E. thouarsi, E. galapagensis, and E. tribuloides, on the other hand, are high. The phylogeny of Eucidaris confirms Ernst Mayr's conclusions that major barriers to the dispersal of tropical echinoids have been the wide stretch of deep water between central and eastern Pacific, the cold water off the southwest coast of Africa, and the Isthmus of Panama. It also suggests that a colonization event in the eastern Pacific has led to speciation between mainland and island populations.
Sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea) are a morphologically diverse, ecologically important, and economically valued clade of echinoderms; however, the understanding of the overall systematics of the group remains controversial. Here, we present a phylogeny of extant Holothuroidea assessed with maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian approaches using approximately 4.3 kb of mt- (COI, 16S, 12S) and nDNA (H3, 18S, 28S) sequences from 82 holothuroid terminals representing 23 of the 27 widely-accepted family-ranked taxa. Currently five holothuroid taxa of ordinal rank are accepted. We find that three of the five orders are non-monophyletic, and we revise the taxonomy of the groups accordingly. Apodida is sister to the rest of Holothuroidea, here considered Actinopoda. Within Actinopoda, Elasipodida in part is sister to the remaining Actinopoda. This latter clade, comprising holothuroids with respiratory trees, is now called Pneumonophora. The traditional Aspidochirotida is paraphyletic, with representatives from three orders (Molpadida, Dendrochirotida, and Elasipodida in part) nested within. Therefore, we discontinue the use of Aspidochirotida and instead erect Holothuriida as the sister group to the remaining Pneumonophora, here termed Neoholothuriida. We found four well-supported major clades in Neoholothuriida: Dendrochirotida, Synallactida, Molpadida and a new taxon, Persiculida. The mapping of traditionally-used morphological characters in holothuroid systematics onto the phylogeny revealed marked homoplasy in most characters demonstrating that further taxonomic revision of Holothuroidea is required. Two time-tree analyses, one based on calibrations for uncontroversial crown group dates for Eleutherozoa, Echinozoa and Holothuroidea and another using these calibrations plus four more from within Holothuroidea, showed major discrepancies, suggesting that fossils of Holothuroidea may need reassessment in terms of placing these forms with existing crown clades.
The degree of isolation of oceanic islands makes these environments an excellent model for evolutionary studies. Proper knowledge of the species composition of oceanic islands, however, is required to better understand evolutionary processes (e.g. speciation events). A 3-year survey in the shallow waters (up to 30 m) of the Trindade and Martin Vaz oceanic insular complex, and a literature review on the data published for these islands and for Fernando de Noronha and São Pedro and São Paulo oceanic archipelagos have been conducted to document the biodiversity of echinoids and holothuroids from these isolated Brazilian oceanic islands. Sixteen species were collected and characterized morphologically, including two first records for the South Atlantic and one for Brazil. Comparison with conspecific specimens from the Brazilian coast and congeners was also done. Species richness increased from six to 18; the richness in Trindade Island being the highest among the South Atlantic oceanic islands. However, these islands remain undersampled beyond 30-m depth. Endemism was very low, suggesting the potential role of oceanic currents and seamounts as stepping-stones in transoceanic dispersal of species to remote islands. The Brazilian oceanic islands are impoverished oceanic outposts of the Brazilian Province; nevertheless, endemic species and intraspecific morphological variations compared with the mainland suggest they may also be regions of speciation. Documenting their biodiversity is critical for effective management and conservation of their marine ecosystems.
As seguintes espécies de equinodermes sao assinaladas pela primeira vez para o Brasil: Holothuria (Cystipus) af. pseudofossor, Stylocidaris lineata, Clypeaster (Clypeaster) rosaceus, Chaetaster longipes, Luidia barbadensis, Amphiura princeps Ophiophragmus pulcher e Amphipholizona delicata. Cladodactyla crocea e Pseudocnus perrieri foram coletadas apenas ao sul do Rio da Prata. Pseudocnus dubiosus e Chiridota marenzelleri ocorreram na região do Uruguai.The geographical distribution of Holothuria (Cystipus) pseudofossor, Stylocidaris lineata, Clypeaster (Clypeaster) rosaceus Chaetaster longipes Luidia barbadensis, Amphiura princeps, Ophiophragmus pulcher and Amphipholizona delicata is extended to the Brazilian region. Cladodactyla croces and Pseudocnus perrieri were collected in the region near Mar del Plata (Argentina) and Pseudoonus dubiosus and Chiridota marenzelleri , in front of Uruguay.
The present study deals with shrimps of the family Alpheidae collected in the shallow waters around the remote Trindade & Martin Vaz Archipelago, situated 1200 km off the coast of Espirito Santo, Brazil. A few additional samples came from dredges on top of the seamounts of the Vitoria-Trindade Seamount Chain. A total of 23 species in eight genera are reported, the vast majority representing new records for the area. One species is described as new, Synalpheus trinitatis sp. nov., based on the type material from Trindade Island. The new species clearly belongs to the Synalpheus brooksi Coutiere, 1909 species complex, differing from all its other members by at least two morphological features. Four species represent new records for Brazil and the southwestern Atlantic: Alpheopsis aequalis Coutiere, 1897 sensu lato, Alpheopsis chalciope de Man, 1910 sensu lato, Alpheus crockeri (Armstrong, 1941) and Prionalpheus gomezi Martinez-Iglesias & Carvacho, 1991; the two species of Alpheopsis are recorded from the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. The colour pattern of the recently described Alpheus rudolphi Almeida & Anker, 2011, a species endemic to Brazil, is shown for the first time and compared to the colour patterns of the four closely related species of the A. armatus Rathbun, 1901 complex from the Caribbean-Florida region. A brief zoogeographical analysis of the alpheid fauna of the oceanic islands of the tropical southern Atlantic (Trindade & Martin Vaz, Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Sao Pedro & Sao Paulo, Ascension, Saint Helena, Cape Verde, Sao Tome & Principe) is also provided.
The dendrochirote and dactylochirote holothurian fauna of China is now known to comprise 56 species in 16 genera. An annotated checklist of species is included here. Eight species are described as new: Actinocucumis chinensis, Phyllophorus (Phyllothuria) donghaiensis, P. (Isophyllophorus) orientalis, Neothyonidium spiniferum, Stolus crassus, S. micronodosus, Thyone purpureopunctata and T. sinensis. Phyllophorus (Isophyllophorus), a new subgenus, is also diagnosed. Preliminary analysis reveals that affinities of the dendrochirote/dactylochirote fauna lie with the tropical Indo-West-Pacific, for approximately 70% of the species are more or less widely distributed in the Indo-West-Pacific. Ten species are now known from the Yellow Sea, 26 from the East China Sea, and 39 from the South China Sea.
The ornamental marine trade has increased on a worldwide scale. Although Brazil is amongst the major exporters, data about this activity are underestimated. Therefore, the profile and consequences of such activity to the wild populations are not fully understood. In spite of being basically supported by fish collection, charismatic invertebrates also figure in this trade and virtually nothing is known about the echinoderms harvested in Brazil. Since baseline data are scarce, this study aims to provide an initial assessment on the marine aquarium echinoderm trade in Bahia State, northeastern Brazil, evaluating the landing of these animals during a ten-year period. Echinoderm landing was monitored and the trade profile was investigated from January 1996 to December 2005. The trade involved five economic segments and supplied not only the local market but other Brazilian states and countries such as Argentina. Fifteen species were commercialized and, amongst them, threatened echinoderms included in the National Red List. Fishermen usually captured them by hand but destructive methods were also used. For these reasons, studies on the dynamics of harvested populations and the development of public policies are urgently needed in order to allow the sustainability of this trade.
The zoogeographical relationships of the shallow water marine fauna of St Paul's Rocks (equatorial Atlantic) are examined with respect to ocean current patterns. Of seventy-seven benthic species considered, 46% are amphi-Atlantic, 14% occur at the central Atlantic islands of Ascension and/or St Helena as well as in either the eastern or western Atlantic, and 5% are endemic to the Rocks. Of the remaining twenty-seven species, 74% are shared only with the western Atlantic, 15% only with Ascension/St Helena, and 11% only with the eastern Atlantic. We deduce that the primary route of immigration for shallow water benthic species has been from Brazil, via the Atlantic Equatorial Undercurrent. Some input from Ascension Island and West Africa by means of the South Ecuatorial Current is also indicated. The zoogeographical composition of the St Paul's fauna is discussed in relation to current velocities and larval lifetimes. We conclude that St Paul's is essentially an impoverished oceanic autpost of the Brazilian faunal province.
In this paper, we propose the reassignment of three western Atlantic species of the order Dendrochirotida to the family Sclerodactylidae (Euthyonidiella occidentalis comb. nov., Euthyonidiella arenicola comb. nov., and Thandarum manoelina comb. nov.) with a discussion on the classification of the dendrochirotids based on the morphology of the calcareous ring. We also propose the synonymization of Euthyonidiella dentata with Euthyonidiella occidentalis comb. nov., desig- nate a neotype for this species and for Thandarum manoelina, and describe a new species of the genus Cucumaria from Brazil
Resumo
The Phylum Echinodermata contains near 7000 living species divided into five Classes. Throughout the years, much has been discovered about them. Besides traditional studies on their ecology, morphology and taxonomy, recent studies are emphasizing new subjects such as medicinal uses, paleoenvironmental indicators and even craftwork. In this study it is presented the occurrence of the Echinodermata species from the Bahia State (Brazil), which are represented by a total of seventy one living species and six fossils. Among the living species, eight belong to the Asteroidea Class, forty to the Ophiuroidea, thirteen to the Echinoidea, seven to the Holoturoidea and three to the Crinoidea. Even though the Bahia State has the longest coastal line, in the whole country, its diversity represent only 21 % of the currently registered Echinodermal fauna of Brazil.
Two recent intertidal collecting expeditions and existing museum collections have added much to knowledge of the Ascension Island echinoderm fauna. Twenty-five species are now known from Ascension; eight are new records. One new species, Holothuria (Halodeima) manningi, and one new subspecies, Echinometra lucunter polypora, are described. Diadema ascensionis Mortensen is regarded as a subspecies of D. antillarum Philippi, and Pseudoboletia atlantica H. L. Clark is regarded as a subspecies of P. maculata Troschel. The echinoderm fauna of Ascension Island includes 8 amphi-Atlantic species, 3 western Atlantic species, 4 eastern Atlantic species, 5 circumtropical species, 4 species shared only with St. Helena, and I endemic species. There are in addition three endemic subspecies. Twelve species are shared with St. Helena, and both islands are closely similar in terms of numbers and relationships of their faunal components. Colonization of both islands by planktonic larval stages is suggested. Dendrochirotid holothurians, which lack such larval stages, are not represented at either St. Helena or Ascension. The structure of the Ascension fauna seems to have been determined by vagaries of ocean surface and subsurface currents. In contrast, Bermuda, which sits astride the Gulf Stream, has a fauna that is entirely typical of the West Indian region to the the south.
This paper reports gravimetric structure and growth history of the volcanic seamounts of Vitória Vitória-Trindade chain, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil, based satellite-derived data. The seamounts have about 30 km in base diameter, 10 km in flat-top diameter, and 4000 m in relative height. The flat-tops are constant in depth without evidence of basement subsidence. The size and frequency of the volcanoes become smaller from west to east. The western half of the chain shows basement uplift with a relative height of 2000. The small seamounts have Bouguer anomaly about 100 mGal lower than the adjacent and their weight is sustained mainly by mechanical firmness of the basement. The large volcanoes show ring-like Bouguer structure with central high and marginal low. The marginal low is about 100 mGal lower than the adjacent abyssal plane and the central high is about 80 mGal higher than marginal low. The central high is attributed to the radial dykes around the central conduit. The seamount weight is supported mainly by mechanical firmness and partially by isostatic compensation of crustal down-buckling. Very large volcanoes have bull's eye-like low Bouguer spots along the marginal low, attributed possibly to lateral cones buried by sedimentary deposits. The mountain foot has Bouguer anomaly 20 to 40 mGal higher than the adjacent areas, called the peripheral high. It is due to the rebound of the crustal down-buckling by seamount weight. The regional Bouguer anomaly suggests lithosphere thinning along the volcanic chain which becomes weak from west to east.
In this paper, we diagnose a new genus of Sclerodactylidae, Coronatum gen. et sp. nov., from shallow waters of the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Coronatum baiensis sp. nov. has a compact calcareous ring with short posterior processes and a unique set of body wall ossicles, composed of two-pillared tables, which do not have any morphological affinities with Euthyonidiella dentata and Pseudothyone belli, the other two known Brazilian sclerodactylid species. Identification keys and photographs of living specimens and ossicles are provided. This paper increases to twelve the number of known Sclerodactylinae genera and to two the number of species of this subfamily in this region.