Mollusca , Nudibranchia : New records and southward range extensions in Santa Catarina , southern Brazil

The Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil (26–29° S), represents the southernmost limit of rocky shores in the tropical Southwest Atlantic (Floeter et al. 2008). Yet, the marginal reef sites in the region have only recently started to be studied in more detail, resulting in new records of tropical invertebrates (Rieger and Giraldi 1997) and particularly reef fishes (Barneche et al. 2009). In this study, we report four new records of nudibranchs from Santa Catarina state (Figure 1). Nudibranchs constitute marine gastropods that lost completely the shell in the adult stage and their defense is given mostly by toxic products obtained from their prey, as cnidarians and sponges (Behrens 2005). Currently, approximately 100 nudibranch species are reported from Brazil (DaCosta et al. 2010) while around 3000 are known worldwide (Wagële and Klussman-Kolb 2005). Most of the available data on Brazilian nudibranchs result from the studies of Ernst and Eveline Marcus done between the 1950 and 1980 decades, most of them at southeastern Brazil (e.g. Marcus 1955; 1957). Recent studies resulted in new records and the description of new species from this region (Padula and Santos 2006; García García et al. 2008; DaCosta et al. 2010, Alvim et al. 2011) while northern, northeastern and southern Brazilian coasts remain poorly studied. Despite the lack of studies focused on nudibranchs in southern Brazil, two of the firstly species know from Brazil, Armina muelleri (Ihering, 1886) and Thordisa ladislavii (Ihering, 1886), were described based on material from Santa Catarina state (Ihering 1886). The same work reported Doris verrucosa Linnaeus, 1758 (as Staudoris verrucosa) and Marionia cucullata (Couthouy, 1852) (as Tritonia cucullata) from the region (Ihering 1886). After a gap of almost a century, Marcus (1977) listed Dendrodoris krebsii (Mörch, 1863) and only 25 years later two other nudibranch species have been reported for Santa Catarina: the aeolids Dondice occidentalis (Engel, 1823) by Wiggers and Magalhães (2003) and Spurilla neapolitana (Delle Abstract: Nudibranch molluscs constitute a group of marine gastropods little studied in most of the Brazilian coast extension. Up to date, only ten species are known from Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil. This work presents four new records of nudibranchs from this region: Aeolidiella indica Bergh, 1988; Berghia rissodominguezi Muniain and Ortea, 1999; Chromodoris paulomarcioi Domínguez, García and Troncoso, 2006 and Tambja stegosauriformis Pola, Cervera, and Gosliner, 2005, expanding the known geographic distribution of the last two species more than 900 km southward. 1 Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Mollusca Sektion, Münchhausenstr. 21, 81247, München, Germany 2 Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Laboratório de Benthos, Ilha do Fundão. CEP 21949-900. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. 3 Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia – CCB, Edifício Fritz Muller. CEP 88040-970. Florianópolis, SC, Brazil. * Corresponding author: E-mail: viniciuspadula@yahoo.com Vinicius Padula 1*, Juliana Bahia 2, Camila Vargas 3 and Alberto Lindner 3 Mollusca, Nudibranchia: New records and southward range extensions in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil

The Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil (26-29° S), represents the southernmost limit of rocky shores in the tropical Southwest Atlantic (Floeter et al. 2008).Yet, the marginal reef sites in the region have only recently started to be studied in more detail, resulting in new records of tropical invertebrates (Rieger and Giraldi 1997) and particularly reef fishes (Barneche et al. 2009).In this study, we report four new records of nudibranchs from Santa Catarina state (Figure 1).
Nudibranchs constitute marine gastropods that lost completely the shell in the adult stage and their defense is given mostly by toxic products obtained from their prey, as cnidarians and sponges (Behrens 2005).Currently, approximately 100 nudibranch species are reported from Brazil (DaCosta et al. 2010) while around 3000 are known worldwide (Wagële and Klussman-Kolb 2005).Most of the available data on Brazilian nudibranchs result from the studies of Ernst and Eveline Marcus done between the 1950 and 1980 decades, most of them at southeastern Brazil (e.g.Marcus 1955;1957).Recent studies resulted in new records and the description of new species from this region (Padula and Santos 2006;García García et al. 2008;DaCosta et al. 2010, Alvim et al. 2011) while northern, northeastern and southern Brazilian coasts remain poorly studied.
Despite the lack of studies focused on nudibranchs in southern Brazil, two of the firstly species know from Brazil, Armina muelleri (Ihering, 1886) and Thordisa ladislavii (Ihering, 1886), were described based on material from Santa Catarina state (Ihering 1886).The same work reported Doris verrucosa Linnaeus, 1758 (as Staudoris verrucosa) and Marionia cucullata (Couthouy, 1852) (as Tritonia cucullata) from the region (Ihering 1886).After a gap of almost a century, Marcus (1977) listed Dendrodoris krebsii (Mörch, 1863) and only 25 years later two other nudibranch species have been reported for Santa Catarina: the aeolids Dondice occidentalis (Engel, 1823) by Wiggers and Magalhães (2003) and Spurilla neapolitana (Delle Abstract: Nudibranch molluscs constitute a group of marine gastropods little studied in most of the Brazilian coast extension.Up to date, only ten species are known from Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil.This work presents four new records of nudibranchs from this region: Aeolidiella indica Bergh, 1988; Berghia rissodominguezi Muniain and Ortea, 1999; Chromodoris paulomarcioi Domínguez, García and Troncoso, 2006 and Tambja stegosauriformis Pola, Cervera, and Gosliner, 2005, expanding the known geographic distribution of the last two species more than 900 km southward.Chiaje, 1823), by Pimpão and Magalhães (2004).In 2006, the dorid Hypselodoris lajensis Troncoso, García and Urgorri, 1998 was reported to the Arvoredo Marine Biological Reserve (Domínguez et al. 2006) 2B) was collected at the same locality and date (MZSP 96627; 15 mm long alive).Aeolidiella indica is a circumtropical species reported in Brazil from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states (Marcus and Marcus 1967;García García et al. 2008).Berghia rissodominguezi occur from Florida to Argentina and has been reported in Brazil at São Paulo state, as Berghia coerulescens by Marcus (1957) (see Muniain and Ortea 1999).
The present records of Chromodoris paulomarcioi and Tambja stegosauriformis expand their known geographic distribution more than 900 km southward (Figure 1).In addition, the distribution of some nudibranch species from the tropical Caribbean to southern Brazil, as Dondice occidentalis and Berghia rissodominguezi, the last one occurring also at the north of Argentina, suppose that they tolerate different environmental -water temperature and currents -and ecological conditions, as observed for some western Atlantic reef fishes (Barneche et al. 2009).However, the connectivity between Caribbean, northern and southern Brazil populations of nudibranchs was never investigated, representing an interesting subject for new studies.
and one year later, DaCosta et al. (2007) described the subspecies Flabellina engeli lucianae, with distribution from Rio de Janeiro to Santa Catarina.Finally, a recent checklist added Polycera aurisula Marcus, 1957 to the list of marine