Invertebrates, REVIZEE South Score (OBIS South America, BRAZIL)

The following groups are presented: Porifera, Cnidaria (Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa and Anthozoa), Sipuncula, Mollusca (Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Cephalopoda, Polyplacophora and Solenogastres), Annelida (Polychaeta), Crustacea (Ostracoda, Cirripedia, Decapoda, Stomatopoda and Tanaidacea), Bryozoa, Brachiopoda, Echinodermata (Ophiuroidea, Asteroidea, Crinoidea, Holothuroidea and Echinoidea) and Chordata (Ascidiacea). A total of 131,369 individuals were recorded and classified into 28 higher taxa.

The most abundant and frequent groups were Porifera, Cnidaria, Sipuncula, Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Scaphopoda, Polychaeta, Crustacea, Ophiuroidea, Bryozoa and Brachiopoda. Bryozoa was the most abundant group (30,501 records) followed by Polychaeta (22,412 inds), Ophiuroidea (16,918), Crustacea (14,240), Brachiopoda (12,834) and Bivalvia (11,761). The collected data reveal a very rich fauna.

The structure of the benthic fauna in the study area was characterized by the association between higher abundances of organisms with sandy and muddy substrata, both with low contents of calcium carbonate (100 - 200 m). The bathymetric distribution of the higher taxa was also demonstrated to be associated with the substrate type. The higher taxa recorded in this study are being analyzed by experts to enable a more precise evaluation of the biodiversity.

A total of 1012 taxa were identified up to date and a significant number of new occurrences and new species were reported. The identified material was placed in biological collections of museums or institutions with curatorial tradition.