Entoprocta Checklist of the State of São Paulo

Abstract

The phylum Entoprocta comprises about 180 species of aquatic, sessile metazoans, the vast majority marine. These animals are found on many substrata, such as stones, algae, shells and other animals. Despite the similarity with other colonial organism, such as hydrozoans and bryozoans, the entoprocts are distinct by having a body that comprises a cuplike calyx with ciliated tentacles, supported by a stalk attached on substrata by a foot or stolon. The evolutionary history of the group is still obscure, and taxonomic and morphological studies are scarce. Due to the work of Ernest Marcus and Eveline Du Bois-Reymond-Marcus, published between the 1930's and 1970's, 18 species are so far known for the Brazilian coast, 16 of those reported from São Paulo state. Unfortunately, most of type material of species described by them is probably lost, only a few being preserved in the Museum of Zoology, University of São Paulo (MZUSP), and at the Natural History Museum, London (NHMUK). Thus, the knowledge on taxonomy, biology and ecology is restricted to some species and localities. The absence of biological surveys and monitoring makes it difficult to evaluate changes in the composition of fauna in impacted regions. Today, there are no experts on Entoprocta neither in São Paulo nor in Brazil, and due the low diversity of this phylum, it is only justified the capacitation of experts who also embrace other taxa, such as Ectoprocta (Bryozoa). The formation of scientific collections like the one of MZUSP, can be an attractive for researches to investigate taxonomy and other aspects of the Brazilian specimens, hitherto little known.