Ophiacanthida, O'Hara, Hugall, Thuy, Stohr & Martynov, 2017

Slivak, Nataly Nunes, Lindner, Alberto & Romanowski, Helena Picolli, 2022, Echinoderms from Santa Catarina, southern Brazil: an update on biodiversity and distribution, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 62, pp. 1-25 : 3

Order Ophiacanthida , Family Ophiacanthidae

Ophiacantha pentacrinus Lütken, 1869 . Three individuals were sampled by Onboard Fleet Observers Program (Programa de Observadores de Bordo na Frota Arrendada – PROA) executed by the fishing study group (Grupo de Estudos Pesqueiros – GEP) from University of Vale do Itajaí (Universidade do Vale do Itajaí – UNIVALI). The specimens were identified by Dr. Michella Borges, specialist and curator of the Echinoderms Collection from the Museum of Zoology of the University of Campinas (Museu de Zoologia da Universidade Estadual de Campinas – ZUEC). The specimens were labeled as ZUEC-OPH 1868; ZUEC-OPH 1871 and ZUEC-OPH 1872 (see Appendix 2). The previous southernmost record was the state of Paraná (Borges et al., 2015), in this study we extend it to the Santa Catarina coast.

Seventy-seven percent of Echinoderms species recorded occur on sandy substrate (SB) ( Table 1). Some ophiuroids species, such as Astrocyclus caecilian , were observed on gorgonians. Regular equinoids and starfish species, such as Narcissia tigonaria , prefer rocky bottoms. However, irregular equinoids, such as Clypeaster subdepressus and the sea cucumber Holothuria (Halodeima) grisea , occur frequently on gravel and sandy substrates ( Fig. 1 ).

Sixteen echinoderm species listed are present in the endangered species list of Santa Catarina (IMA, 2011), and seven of them are in the Brazilian Red List (ICMBio, 2018).

The species were recorded in 135 different sites off Santa Catarina ( Fig. 2 ) and the highest number of echinoderm records was between 25°19′S and 28°11′S latitudes. Sites of the continental shelf and the Reserva Biológica Marinha of Arvoredo area had most of the records (30 and 26 species,respectively) ( Tables 1 and 2). In addition, we observed that Santa Catarina is the southernmost record,in the Atlantic Ocean, for 40 echinoderm species listed herein (19 Ophiuroidea, 12 Echinoidea, five Asteroidea, two Crinoidea and two Holothuroidea) ( Table 1). Eight species are endemic to the Brazilian coast: the ophiuroids Amphiura deichmanni , Amphiura muelleri , Ophiothrix brasiliensis , Ophiothrix rathbuni , Ophiothrix tommasii , Ophiothrix troscheli , Ophiomisidium tommasii , Ophiomastus satelitae .

Figures

Figure 1.Some echinoderm species fromSantaCatarina.(A) Astropyga sp.(Arvoredo Island;Photo:Jéssica Link),(B) Holothuria(Halodeima)grisea(Arvoredo Island; Photo:Thiago Fiuza),(C) Clypeaster subdepressus (Xavier Island;Photo:Nataly Slivak),(D) Narcissiatrigonaria (Xavier Island;Photo:João Luís Carraro).

Figure 2. Map of SantaCatarina State,Brazil,showing the record sites of echinoderm species (red circles).