Ascidiacea (Chordata, Tunicata) from Uruguay (SW Atlantic): Checklist and zoogeographic considerations

• Published in: Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales
• Main Authors: Scarabino, Fabrizio, Maggioni, Tamara, Taverna, Anabela Jesús, Lagger, Cristian Fabian, Schwindt, Evangelina, Orensanz, Lobo, López, Guzmán, Ortega, Leonardo, Garcia Rodriguez, Felipe, Tatian, Marcos
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia
• Subjects: AMBIENTES MARINOS PROFUNDOS; CUENCA ARGENTINA; DIVERSIDAD; TAXONOMIA; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1; Antarctic; Argentina; Argentine; Uruguay; Herdman; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11336/96723

The diversity of ascidians from the Southwestern Atlantic between 30°S and 40°S (southern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina) remains as one of the poorest known of the West Atlantic. The objective of this work is to compile, analyze and discuss all published records of ascidians from Uruguay. They show the historical relevance of the studies performed by Herdman, Monniot F. and Monniot C. on ascidians collected at deep-sea stations by the HMS Challenger and the RV Atlantis II in the Argentine Basin. Total literature records include 38 ascidian species which are enumerated here for the first time. On the basis of the current knowledge, the ascidian fauna of Uruguayan waters encompasses: a) shallow-water species with temperate distribution (3 spp.); b) shelf and deep-sea species with Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic distribution (13 spp.); c) deep-sea species until now only collected off Río de La Plata (11 spp.); d) deep-sea species displaying a wide distribution (11 spp.). Only nine species have been recorded for the continental shelf; the remaining species were collected either from the slope (21) or the abyssal plain (5) or both deep-sea zones (3). Future research should be directed to record coastline and shelf species, assess the presence of exotic elements, and re-describe enigmatic species first described by Herdman (1882, 1886). Fil: Fabrizio Scarabino. Centro Universitario Regional del Este - CURE, Universidad de la República y Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Montevideo, Uruguay Fil: Maggioni, Tamara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; Argentina Fil: Taverna, Anabela Jesús. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de ...