Check List 14(2): 453-459, doi: 10.15560/14.2.453
Occurrence of the non-indigenous brittle star Ophiothela cf. mirabilis Verrill, 1867 (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) in natural and anthropogenic habitats off Santa Catarina, Brazil
expand article infoJonathan W. Lawley‡, Adriana Carvalhal Fonseca§, Edson Faria Júnior|, Alberto Lindner
‡ Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil§ Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Florianópolis, Brazil| Instituto Brasileiro de Biodiversidade, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil¶ Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil

Corresponding author: Jonathan W. Lawley ( jwlawley@ib.usp.br )

Academic editor: Sergio N. Stampar
© 2018 Jonathan W. Lawley, Adriana Carvalhal Fonseca, Edson Faria Júnior, Alberto Lindner.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Lawley JW, Fonseca AC, Faria Júnior E, Lindner A (2018) Occurrence of the non-indigenous brittle star Ophiothela cf. mirabilis Verrill, 1867 (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) in natural and anthropogenic habitats off Santa Catarina, Brazil. Check List 14(2): 453-459. https://doi.org/10.15560/14.2.453
Open Access
Abstract
The brittle star Ophiothela mirabilis, thought to be confined to Pacific waters, was first observed in the Atlantic in 2000. Since then, it has expanded its range north to Trinidad and Tobago and south to Paraná, Brazil. By monitoring the coast of Santa Catarina, Brazil, with both recruitment plates in harbors and SCUBA diving, we were able to observe specimens of Ophiothela mirabilis in both natural and anthropogenic habitats. This presents a range extension of ~80 km south and emphasizes the importance of anthropogenic means for their spread and establishment.
Keywords
invasion; introduction; exotic; distribution extension