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Issue: Vol. 2343 No. 1: 25 Jan. 2010
Type: Articles
Published: 2010-01-25
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2343.1.6
Page range: 66–68
Abstract views: 26
PDF downloaded: 1

First record of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis (Actiniaria: Edwardsiidae) in Southern Hemisphere waters

G.P.A., Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Ecossistemas Marinhos (LECEM), Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife - PE, Brasil
G.P.A., Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Ecossistemas Marinhos (LECEM), Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife - PE, Brasil
G.P.A., Mestrado em Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, s/n, Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, Brasil G.P.A., Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Campus de Vitória de Santo Antão, Rua Alto do Reservatório, s/n, Centro, Vitória de Santo Antão, PE, Brasil
G.P.A., Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Ecossistemas Marinhos (LECEM), Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife - PE, Brasil
Coelenterata (Cnidaria) Actiniaria Edwardsiidae

Abstract

This is the first record of the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis Stephenson, 1935, in Southern Hemisphere waters. Specimens of N. vectensis were collected in the surroundings of the Port of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. The species is native to the Atlantic coast of the United States of America; populations along the Pacific coast of the USA and the coasts of England are the result of anthropogenic introduction, probably associated with ships and boats used in oyster commerce (Sheader et al. 1997; Pearson et al. 2002; Reitzel et al. 2008). The present study extends the latitudinal distribution of this species, and we discuss the presence on the Brazilian coast of this exotic species.

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