Laís V. Ramalho

New records of Catenicella de Blainville, 1830 (Catenicellidae: Cheilostomata: Ascophora) in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Although there are six species of Catenicellidae recorded in Brazil, the three Catenicella species described here are the first mention of the genus in the state of Rio de Janeiro, enlarging their distribution along the Brazilian coast. Previously, C. contei was recorded in Pernambuco and Sao Paulo, while C. elegans was recorded in the states of Alagoas and Sao Paulo. The recent identification of these species in the state of Rio de Janeiro suggests two possibilities: it is difficult to find them due to small size and cryptic habitat, and/or they represent introduced species.

Bryozoans from Rio Grande do Sul Continental Shelf, Southern Brazil

The continental shelf of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) is predominantly composed of unconsolidated sediments with a few hard substrates represented principally by beachrock. In this area there are elongate deposits of shell gravel material which are interpreted as indicators of the palaeo-shorelines. These Pleistocene deposits are overlapped by Holocene sediments (Recent), but are exposed during erosive events caused by extra-tropical cyclones, which provide the mixture of both sediments mainly during autumn and winter. The few studies on bryozoans made in this area previously recorded seven species, one fossil and the other six from Recent fluvial and marine environments. The aim of the present study was to describe the eight most abundant bryozoan species that occur in the inner RS shelf. Of these, four are new records for RS State (Arachnopusia aff. pusae, Hippomonavella brasiliensis, Turbicellepora pourtalesi, and Lifuella gorgonensis), and the other four are new to science (Chaperia taylori, Micropora nodimagna, Cellaria riograndensis, and Exochella moyani).

New species of Hippopleurifera (Bryozoa, Cheilostomata) from the Miocene Pirabas Formation, Pará state, Brazil

The Pirabas Formation in Brazil has been studied for many years and a great diversity of animal groups (in particular fishes, molluscs and echinoderms) have been described from there, whereas the Bryozoa have scarcely been mentioned. New samples, collected specifically to focus on bryozoans, have shown that the diversity in this formation is higher than previously thought. Here we describe two new species belonging to the cheilostomate genus Hippopleurifera--H. barbosae sp. nov. and H. confusa sp. nov. Both species were collected at Atalaia Beach, northeastern Pará state, which boasts some of the best marine Cenozoic fossil outcrops in Brazil. After accounting for all described species, plus the two new species and four generic reassignments (new combinations) described herein, some 29 Hippopleurifera species are now known. Most of these are fossils from Europe or the USA, but a handful are known from the Recent Mediterranean, Caribbean and Indo-West Pacific.

Three species of Reteporella (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata) in a diapiric and mud volcano field of the Gulf of Cádiz, with the description of Reteporella victori n. sp.

Diapirs and mud volcanoes (MVs) are formed by the migration and extrusion of fluids and mud to the seafloor, respectively. In the Gulf of Cádiz there are ca. 60 MVs and several diapirs with different environmental conditions and seepage activity. Previous studies, mainly on MVs, have demonstrated that the invertebrate fauna associated with these seafloor structures can be very diverse, including chemosymbiotic species, mostly mollusks and frenulate polychaetes, as well as vulnerable suspension feeders, such as cold-water corals and sponges, among others. Previous studies of the bryozoan fauna in this area have recorded species belonging to 28 families. One of these families is Phidoloporidae, which comprises 27 genera worldwide, including the common Rhynchozoon, Reteporellina, and Reteporella. In the present study, two species belonging to Reteporella are redescribed, and a new species is described from diapirs and MVs on the shelf and slope of the Gulf of Cádiz. The samples were collected during several oceanographic expeditions carried out by the Instituto Español de Oceanografia. This genus is well represented in the NE Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and our study extends its occurrence on MVs and diapirs fields of the Gulf of Cádiz.

New records of the Bryozoan Metrarabdotos from the Pirabas Formation (Lower Miocene), Pará State, Brazil

The Pirabas Formation in Pará State, Brazil, contains a very rich and diverse fauna of Early Miocene age, including several groups of invertebrates and vertebrates. Previous studies of bryozoans from Brazil included two species of Metrarabdotos ones, but these need revision. The present study describes three new species of Metrarabdotos (M. aquaeguttum sp. nov., M. elongatum sp. nov., M. capanemensis sp. nov.) collected from two outcrops: Atalaia Beach at Salinópolis city and B-17 Mine at Capanema city. Laís V. Ramalho. Instituto Español de Oceanografia – IEO, Puerto Pesquero, s/n, Fuengirola. 29640; and Universidad de Málaga, Málaga – España. laiscanabarro@yahoo.com.br Vladimir A. Távora. Laboratório de Paleontologia, Faculdade de Geologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Pará, Caixa Postal 1611, Belém, Pará, Brazil. vladimir@ufpa.br Kamil Zagorsek. Department of Geography, Technical University of Liberec, Studentská 2, CZ-461 17 Liberec, Czech Republic. kamil.zagorsek@gmail.cz