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New occurrences of Myoforceps aristatus (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) in the Brazilian coast
Authors: Cavallari, D.C.; Gonçalves, E.P.; Amaral, V.S.
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In this paper, we report 18 new occurrences of the invasive bivalve Myoforceps aristatus (Dillwyn, 1817) in the Brazilian coast. These new records were carried out in 2007-2012, and included the northeastern states of Ceará and Bahia, as well as Santa Catarina, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in the south-southeastern regions. Specimens of M. aristatus were found boring into gastropod and bivalve shells, as well as dead hard coral substrate alongside Lithophaga bisulcata (d’Orbigny, 1842), Mytilidae, a native species. This shows that M. aristatus may be less selective towards the substrate than originally assumed, and indicates the need of further studies in order to clarify the ecological relationships between these species. The data we present here points out to the fact that the invasion has worsened considerably, or was more severe than previously stated, and endorse previous statements towards the need of financial support for studies on marine bioinvasions in Brazil.