AUTHOR=Paiva Sandra V. , Oliveira Filho Ronaldo R. de , Lotufo Tito M. da Cruz 

TITLE=Ascidians from Rocas Atoll, northeast Brazil

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=2

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2015.00039

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2015.00039

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=<p>Rocas Atoll is the only one of its kind in the South Atlantic—and the first Brazilian marine biological reserve. This is the first report about the ascidians from Rocas. A total of 12 species were found, 5 of them not hitherto described: <italic>Ascidia viridina</italic> sp. nov., <italic>Didemnum rochai</italic> sp. nov., <italic>Leptoclinides crocotulus</italic> sp. nov., <italic>Polysyncraton maurizeliae</italic> sp. nov., and <italic>Trididemnum rocasensis</italic> sp. nov. One Caribbean species, <italic>Didemnum halimedae</italic>, was also discovered in the region for the first time. Further, this is the first record of <italic>Didemnum digestum</italic> in the Atlantic. The results indicate a high degree of endemism in the ascidian fauna from Rocas Atoll, where didemnids are presently the most important members.</p>