The azooxanthellate coral fauna of Brazil

The azooxanthellate coral fauna diversity and distribution off Brazil are provided, with data both newly collected and compiled from the literature. The Brazilian coast is > 7000 km long and relatively little sampling has been conducted in the area, except during the last two decades. Knowledge of the azooxanthellate coral fauna of Brazil is fragmentory, despite recent contributions listing a total of 45 species. Here I report 56 species, including four new records, which is high compared to the 15 zooxanthellate coral species occurring in Brazil. At present, the ratio of azooxanthellate to zooxanthellate species is 4:1, contrasting with the ratio in the tropical-warm temperate western Atlantic (2:1) and the ratio worldwide (1:1). The species Lophelia pertusa (Linnaeus, 1758) (17–34 °S) and Solenosmilia variabilis Duncan, 1873 (9–34°S) are the most dominant cold-water reef-building coral species in Brazil.