Sistemática e Evolução - Comunicações orais

Leodice Lamarck, 1818 is widely distributed and can be found in all oceans, inhabiting both hard and soft substrates at various depths (Zanol & Budaeva, 2021). Currently, there are 34 known species of Leodice recorded worldwide, with seven of these species found along the Brazilian coast (Amaral et al. 2006-2022; Read & Fauchald 2023; Wu et al. 2013). In this study, we present the description of a new species and a new record for the Tropical Southwest Atlantic, L. pellucida (Kinberg, 1865). The specimens were collected from 93 stations located on the Continental Shelf of the Tropical Southwest Atlantic, spanning from coordinates 6°58'S 34°46'W to 7°34'S 34°45'W, at depths ranging from 10—35 m. They were fixed in 4% formaldehyde, preserved in 70% alcohol, and deposited in the Paulo Young Invertebrate Collection (UFPB). The new species resembles L. antillensis (Ehlers, 1887), L. articulata (Ehlers, 1887), L. mexicana (Fauchald, 1970), and L. websteri (Fauchald, 1969) by having branchiae restricted to 55% of the body, and subacicular hooks yellow and bidentate. However, these species differ in that specimens of Leodice n. sp. have long antennae and palps with moniliform articulations, pectinate chaetae with both marginal teeth longer than the other teeth, two types of aciculae, one to two subacicular hooks per parapodium, and six pairs of maxillae. Leodice pellucida is originally described from the Caribbean Sea, and it has not been recorded for any other locality. We observed for the first time for this species tridentate compound falcigers chaetae present in posterior chaetigers. These new records contribute for the knowledge on Sowthwestern Atlantic marine fauna and expanding the number of Leodice species known for the Brazilian coast to nine.