Luis Ernesto Arruda Bezerra

The fiddler crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura: Ocypodidae: genus Uca) of the South Atlantic Ocean

The taxonomy of the 11 species of fiddler crabs [Uca (Uca) maracoani (Latreille, 1802-1803), U. (U.) tangeri (Eydoux, 1835), U. (Minuca) burgersi Holthuis, 1967, U. (M.) mordax (Smith, 1870), U. (M.) rapax (Smith, 1870), U. (M.) thayeri Rathbun, 1900, U. (M.) victoriana von Hagen, 1987, U. (M.) vocator (Herbst, 1804), U. (Leptuca) cumulanta Crane, 1943, U. (L.) leptodactyla Rathbun, 1898 and U. (L.) uruguayensis Nobili, 1901] of the South Atlantic Ocean is reviewed. Keys for identification, updating the keys for the Atlantic Ocean are proposed, including the species recently described. Comments reporting morphological variations among types and additional material and among populations of different localities are included. The Atlantic species are divided into three subgenera: Uca s. str., Minuca and Leptuca. The eastern Atlantic species U. (U.)tangeri is included in subgenus Uca s. str. due to the presence of a proximal spine opposing the spoon-tipped setae of the second maxilliped, which is considered an apomorphic character of the subgenus Uca s. str.

Decapod crustaceans from the state of Ceará, northeastern Brazil: an updated checklist of marine and estuarine species, with 23 new records

The present study is the first major assessment of the marine decapod fauna of Ceará, northeastern Brazil, since contributions of J. Fausto-Filho in the 1960s-1970s. A fully updated checklist of all decapod crustaceans occurring in marine and estuarine habitats of Ceará is provided, based on literature records, specimens held in two carcinological collections of the Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), and material collected mainly by the authors between 2011 and 2014. A total of 337 decapod species are listed, distributed among the following taxa: Achelata (8 species), Anomura (42 species), Astacidea (1 species), Axiidea (11 species), Brachyura (162 species), Caridea (83 species), Dendrobranchiata (20 species), Gebiidea (9 species), and Stenopodidea (1 species). Among them, 23 species represent new records for Ceará, with 14 species, viz. Alpheus peasei (Armstrong, 1940), A. thomasi Hendrix & Gore, 1973, Ambidexter symmetricus Manning & Chace, 1971, Axianassa australis Rodrigues & Shimizu, 1992, Biffarius biformis (Biffar, 1971), B. fragilis (Biffar, 1970), Leptalpheus axianassae Dworschak & Coelho, 1999, L. forceps Williams, 1965, Lysmata bahia Rhyne & Lin, 2006, L. intermedia (Kingsley, 1878), Merhippolyte americana Holthuis, 1961, Neocallichirus maryae Karasawa, 2004, Ogyrides hayi Williams, 1981, and Typton carneus Holthuis, 1951, now having Ceará as the northern-most limit in their distribution range along the Brazilian coastline. One shrimp species, Lysmata lipkei Okuno & Fiedler, 2010, which was also found in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, possibly represents an invasive taxon in Brazil and the western Atlantic, originating from the Indo-West Pacific. Alpheus buckupi Almeida, Terossi, Araújo-Silva & Mantelatto, 2013, previously recorded from Ceará based on a colour photograph, is confirmed from this state, with specimens from several new localities. A few doubtful records from Ceará are briefly discussed. Colour photographs are provided for most of the taxa newly recorded from Ceará; some species are illustrated in colour for the first time.

First record of Xenobalanus globicipitis (Cirripedia: Coronulidae) on Stenella coeruleoalba (Cetacea: Delphinidae) in the oligotrophic waters of north-eastern Brazil

The present contribution reports for the first time the sessile barnacle Xenobalanus globicipitis as an epizoic of the striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba in the oligotrophic waters of north-eastern Brazil. One barnacle specimen was found on a dead cetacean in Ceara State, north-eastern Brazil. Diagnosis and figures of the barnacle are provided and the relationship between the epizoic and the host discussed.

A new western Atlantic species of Eurysquilla (Crustacea: Stomatopoda: Eurysquilloidea) with a key to the world species

A new species of eurysquilloid stomatopod, Eurysquilla petronioi sp. nov., is described from the tropical western Atlantic. Eurysquilla petronioi sp. nov. is the fourteenth species of the genus to be recognized worldwide, the fifth species from the western Atlantic and the second from Brazilian waters. It is most closely related to E. maiaguesensis from Puerto Rico, but differs chiefly in having an unarmed versus apically spinous rostral plate and 6 or 7 rather than 8–10 teeth on dactylus of raptorial claw. A key to the species of the genus is provided.

Marine benthic communities affected by the Doce River (southwestern Atlantic): Baseline before a mining disaster

Prior to Brazils worst environmental disaster, caused by a mining dam collapse, we had carried out a study of the marine benthic macrofauna (11-51 m depth) under the influence of the Doce River. Our results showed significant diversity, in which mollusks, polychaetes, and crustaceans had the highest frequency, density, and abundance, represented by 162 families in summer and 173 in winter. Our results suggested that richness, abundance, and diversity increase with distance from the coast. Furthermore, with increasing distance from the coast and river mouth, in addition to increasing depth, there was a differentiation in composition and abundance. Multivariate analyses showed depth, carbonate, and organic matter as important factors that explain variations in composition and diversity across the continental shelf. The results could provide an invaluable baseline for measuring the effects on shallow and mesophotic communities of one of the largest tailings dam failures worldwide.

First record of Pentapycnon geayi Bouvier, 1911 (Pycnogonida: Pycnogonidae) in the state of Ceará, northeastern Brazil

Contributions to the knowledge of the Pycnogonida fauna along the Brazilian coast are scarce. There are only 60 records for the coast of Brazil, and reports of this fauna are notably discontinuous. This is the first record of Pentapycnon geayi Bouvier, 1911 (Pycnogonida: Pycnogonidae) in the state of Ceara. This study adds a new bathymetric record and fills a gap in the distribution of P. geayi along the Brazilian coast. This report also provides important new data for Ceara because the diversity of Pycnogonida in this state is practically unknown.

Checklist of Stomatopoda (Malacostraca: Hoplocarida) deposited in the MOUFPE collection, with a new record from Brazil

A total of 39 species of Stomatopoda were previously reported from marine and estuarine habitats of Brazilian waters. The present checklist is based on material deposited in the crustacean collection of Museu de Oceanografia Petronio Alves Coelho, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, city of Recife, Brazil (MOUFPE). The collection, deriving primarily from the northern and northeastern coast of Brazil, includes 667 samples and 1.301 specimens, distributed in four superfamilies, seven families, 14 genera and 33 species, including one holotype and two paratype. Apparent distribution gaps for five-species were filled. Two Brazilian endemic species had their southern geographical ranges increased (Neogonodactylus moraisi (Fausto Filho & Lemos de Castro, 1973) and Nannosquilla dacostai Manning, 1970) and one was recorded for the first time from northeast Brazilian waters [Alima neptuni (Linnaeus, 1768)]. There are now 42 species of Stomatopoda recorded from the Brazilian coast.