“…These reefs include a benthic fauna, which provide various natural substrates for the Polycladida, composed mainly of sponges (Cedro et al, 2007(Cedro et al, , 2011(Cedro et al, , 2013Bispo et al, 2014), corals (Correia, 2011) and bryozoans (Vieira et al, 2007(Vieira et al, , 2008(Vieira et al, , 2010. A variety of algae also provides habitats for numerous associated organisms (Santos & Correia, 1994, 1995, 2001), which are important environments for flatworms and other small invertebrates such as opisthobranch molluscs (Padula et al, 2012) and echinoderm brittle stars (Lima et al, 2011(Lima et al, , 2013. However, there is a significant lack of information, particularly about marine platyhelminthes in this region, with no record of the order Polycladida from Alagoas reef ecosystems.…”