Amathia distans Busk, 1886

(Figs. 22–23)

Amathia distans Busk, 1886: 33, pl. 7, fig. 1; Vieira et al. 2008: 10; Fehlauer-Ale et al. 2011: 56, figs. 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 (cum syn.); Migotto et al. 2011: 269; Marques et al. 2013: 271; Vieira et al. 2014: 514; Almeida et al. 2015b: 3.

Material examined. UFBA 1581, UFBA 2349–50, Todos os Santos Bay, 13°00’S, 38°32’W, 3–8 m, coll. 2013 (on sponge Callyspongia sp.) ; UFBA 1600, UFBA 2351, Camamu Bay, 13°53’S, 38°59’W, 18–20 m, coll. October 2012 (on sponge Dysidea etheria) ; UFBA 1617, UFBA 2352–53, Camamu Bay, 13°53’S, 38°59’W, 18–20 m, coll. October 2012 (on Mycale angulosa).

Remarks. Fehlauer-Ale et al. (2011) redescribed A. distans and stated the bright yellow pigment spots in stolonal and zooidal surfaces, the thickly cuticularised slender stolon (Fig. 22), and the autozooids organized in clockwise and anticlockwise directions (Fig. 23) as distinctive characters of the species. Amathia distans has been reported on a variety of substrata such as algae, bryozoans and anthropogenic surfaces (Fehlauer-Ale et al. 2011). Here we present the first record of A. distans associated with the sponges Callyspongia sp., Dysidea etheria and Mycale angulosa .

Distribution. Atlantic: Brazil (Alagoas, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Paraná) (Fehlauer-Ale et al. 2011).