Species richness of pycnogonida and echinodermata associated with the reef ecosystems of morro de são paulo on tinharé island in Northeastern Brazil
International Journal of Development Research
Species richness of pycnogonida and echinodermata associated with the reef ecosystems of morro de são paulo on tinharé island in Northeastern Brazil
Received 03rd January, 2020; Received in revised form; 11th February, 2020; Accepted 26th March, 2020; Published online 29th April, 2020
Copyright © 2020, Jéssica Prata et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Invertebrates associated with the reef ecosystems of Morro de São Paulo on Tinharé Island in the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil were studied from samplescollected in January and September 2015. A total of 119 individuals belonging to 26 species and 16 families were identified among Pycnogonida and Echinodermata. The families Ophiactidae and Ophiodermatidae (Echinodermata) were the most representative taxa. The most abundant families were Ophiactidaeand Amphiuridae (Echinodermata) with 76 individuals. The pycnogonids recorded for Morro de São Paulo were Acheliasawaya, Ammothellaspinifera and Tanystylumisabellae, all found on algae. Algae constitute a good habitat for sea spiders and small ophiuroids in shallow waters. These numbers evidence how little we know about coastal marine invertebrate fauna in Brazil and indicate the need for further sampling, especially in the study area.
