Taxonomic guide and historical review of starfishes in northeastern Brazil (Echinodermata, Asteroidea)

Abstract

Presently more than 1900 species of sea stars are recognized, of which 77 are recorded for the coast of Brazil. Although the first starfish record in Brazil was published 363 years ago, our knowledge of this fauna remains unsatisfactory from a systematic and ecological point of view, particularly in the north and northeastern regions of the country. This study provides the first annotated list of sea stars from northeastern Brazil. Material described herein is housed at the collections of the Federal University of Paraíba, Federal University of Sergipe, and the Federal University of Bahia, Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo and Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro. Twenty-one species were identified, belonging to 12 genera, 10 families, and 5 orders. Descriptions of species are provided. Three new occurrences were recorded for northeast Brazil: Astropecten alligator, Luidia ludwigi scotti, and Mithrodia clavigera. Highest diversities of Asteroidea were encountered for the states of Bahia (n = 14 spp), Paraíba (n = 12 spp) and Pernambuco (n = 9 spp). No species were recorded for the states of Maranhão and Sergipe. Sandy substrates and depths below 10 m were the least sampled areas over the continental shelf. Herein we provide a first panorama on the fauna of Asteroidea occurring in the northeast region of Brazil, hopefully to function as a basic reference for biodiversity studies in this poorly studied area.

Guia ilustrado dos Echinodermata da porção sul do Embaiamento Sul Brasileiro

“…Placas inferomarginais com dois espinhos marginais alongados, achatados e pontudos. Três espinhos adambulacrais divergentes, mediano maior (Clark & Downey 1992;Gondim et al 2014).…”

“…Distribuição geográfica: Oceano Atlântico: Honduras, Panamá, Suriname (Clark & Downey 1992;Alvarado et al 2008), Brasil (Tommasi 1958(Tommasi , 1970aGondim et al 2014;Alitto et al 2016), Uruguai e Argentina (Bernasconi 1957).…”

“…Sem espinhos nas placas superomarginais. Placas inferomarginais destacando-se nitidamente sob as superomarginais e apresentando espinhos inferomarginais afilados e achatados (Clark & Downey 1992;Gondim et al 2014).…”

Revisão do gênero Narcissia Gray, 1840 (Echinodermata: Asteroidea: Ophidiasteridae): da morfologia à taxonomia

“…Entretanto, a validade de alguns desses táxons tem sido questionada (e.g., Walekamp, 1976). Autores subsequentes (Clark & Downey, 1992;Pawson, 2007;Gondim et al, 2014) consideraram N. trigonaria e N. canariensis espécies distintas, mas não aprofundaram a questão, continuaram utilizando caracteres ambíguos na separação das duas espécies, perpetuando as dúvidas existentes. Mortensen (1933), descreveu Narcissia trigonaria helenae (originalmente Narcissia trigonaria var.…”

“…helenae. Veja ICZN, 1999) da ilha oceânica de Santa Helena (Atlântico Sul Central), cuja validade permanece incerta até o presente momento, apesar de autores subsequentes (Downey, 1973;Clark & Downey, 1992;Gondim et al, 2014), sem apresentar quaisquer justificativas, listarem N. trigonaria helenae na sinonímia de N. trigonaria.…”