“…This review shows that, with 62 species, the SS region is a hotspot of ascidian diversity in Brazil, in comparison with species richness in other, well-studied, Brazilian states: Santa Catarina—39 (Rocha et al , 2005b, 2009); Paraná—32 (Rocha & Nasser, 1998; Rocha & Faria, 2005; Rocha & Kremer, 2005); Rio de Janeiro—47 (Millar, 1958; Simões, 1981; Lotufo, 2002; Rocha & Costa, 2005; Marins et al , 2010); and Ceará—33 (Lotufo, 2002; Lotufo & Silva, 2006; Oliveira-Filho, 2010). Species richness for ascidians in the SSC is also comparable to that in False Bay (58 species), the richest site in South Africa (Awad et al , 2002) and Bocas del Toro, Panamá (58 species), considered a very diverse region in the Caribbean (Rocha et al , 2005a).…”