The Brazilian Caudofoveata (Mollusca, Aplacophora): a morphological approach based on different techniques of histology

• Grant number: 24/02559-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Applied Zoology
• Principal Investigator: Flávio Dias Passos
• Grantee: Júlia Mariana da Silva Carvalho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/10313-0 - Build-up of scientific collections of marine invertebrates: strategies for biodiversity conservation, AP.BTA.TEM

Abstract

The Class Aplacophora comprises species of molluscs with a worm-like body covered by a quitinous cuticle that shelter sclerites (or spicules) made of aragonite; they are divided in two linages: Solenogastres Gegenbaur, 1878 and Caudofoveata Boettger, 1956. The later has 140 described species, characterized by the lack of a foot and the presence of an oral disc (an area around the mouth without sclerites). In Brazil, the first records of caudofoveates were made in 1985 and 2008 for its northeastern coast, and more recently, a diverse fauna of these animals has been described, based on a series of samples collected in the last two decades along oil rich Brazilian areas of the southeastern and southern regions. However, a few is known about the nature of their internal tissues, once the studies focus only on external characters, like the external body shape, and on the characteristics of their radula and sclerites. Filling this gap on knowledge, in this PhD a histological study of about 20 species will be performed, through classical light microscopy and modern x-ray images, comparing their characteristics in the different families. This study started as a Master Degree Thesis; now, with the real perspective of obtaining a larger amount of results to be analyzed, we are requesting to FAPESP this upgrade to a PhD Thesis. (AU)