Ascidiacea (Chordata: Tunicata) from brazilian tropical coast

Author(s)

Tito Monteiro da Cruz Lotufo

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB)
• Defense date: 2002-05-08

Examining board members

Sergio de Almeida Rodrigues; Antonia Cecilia Zacagnini Amaral; Alvaro Esteves Migotto; Edmundo Ferraz Nonato; Rosana Moreira da Rocha

• Advisor: Sergio de Almeida Rodrigues

Abstract

Although ascidians are well known in many regions of the globe, information about the group on Brazilian coast are very scanty. Most of the Brazilian coastline is included on the tropical region, which is the poorest known. In order to obtain an inventory of ascidians species on the Brazilian tropical coast, surveys were conducted in different points, ranging from the intertidal to the shallow subtidal depths. Another goal of the present work was to organize all available information through a revision of bibliography and visits to institutions that held representative collections. 61 visits were conducted in places along the coast of the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Bahia, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte e Ceará. Specimens were collected, examined and identified to the species level. An extensive taxonomic revision was made for every species, by means of literature as well as examination of types and other specimens deposited in different institutions. The present work includes synonymy lists, descriptions, pictures and remarks for each species studied. Keys for all taxa an every category were also included. Up to the present work, 90 species of ascidians had been recorded for Brazil, of which 54 are listed to the State of São Paulo. The surveys revealed a total of 67 species, expanding the list to 98 Brazilian species. Those species are distributed in 2 orders and 3 suborders of the class, with a total of 31 genera included in 14 of the 23 families currently accepted. As an immediate result, were registered 9 new records for Brazilian coast, along with the description of 1 new genus and 10 new species. Furthermore, 8 species have had its taxonomic situation altered by synonymy or separation. The present results, together with data from literature generated tables which were submitted to cluster analysis and a parsimony analysis of endemycity. These analyses revealed a distribution pattern similar to others observed for different benthic taxa. The region studied comprises two provinces, Brazilian Province and Paulista Province. (AU)