Mollusc Fauna in the Atlantic Slope Region of the

International Journal of Aquaculture 2012, Vol.2, No.4, 15-20
http://ija.sophiapublisher.com
Research Report
Open Access
Mollusc Fauna in the Atlantic Slope Region of the Southern Cone of South
America: a Preliminary Biogeographical Interpretation
A. Ignacio Agudo-Padrón
Project Avulsos Malacológicos, P.O. Box 010, 88010-970 Centro, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina - SC, Brasil
Corresponding author email: [email protected]
International Journal of Aquaculture, 2012, Vol. 2, No. 4
doi: 10.5376/ija.2012.02.0004
Received: 30 Aug., 2012
Accepted: 03 Sep., 2012
Published: 07 Sep., 2012
This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Agudo-Padrón, 2012, Mollusc Fauna in the Atlantic Slope Region of the Southern Cone of South America: a Preliminary Biogeographical Interpretation,
International Journal of Aquaculture, Vol.2, No.4, 15-20 (doi: 10.5376/ija.2012.02.0004)
Abstract A preliminary diagnostic test summary balance sheet and rough on the marine and continental mollusc fauna, terrestrial
and limnic/freshwater, occurring in the geopolitical region of the Southern Brazil and adjacent is presented. Result of extensive
research work in the field and analysis of regional natural history reference generated off dilated bibliographic production,
developed in the course of the last 13 years (1996~2009), aims to characterize and integral organization of their unique knowledge,
emphasizing the major ecological and geographical factors that determine their presence, spatial location and occupancy of available
environments. Parallels, the comparative results regarding the total numbers of species estimated for each of the portions of the
territory geo-spatial components analyzed, the Brazilian states of Paraná (PR, 332), Santa Catarina (SC, 772), Rio Grande do Sul
(RS, 492), and the neighboring countries of its southern Uruguay (373) and Argentina (535), members as a whole so-called
Atlantic Slope region of the Southern Cone of South America, to the West of the Andes.
Keywords Mollusc fauna biodiversity; Biogeography; Atlantic slope of the Southern Cone; South America; Ecology; Space
distribution
Background
(Agudo-Padrón, 2009e), Santa Catarina - SC (772)
(Agudo-Padrón, 2008c; 2009a), Rio Grande do Sul RS (492) (Agudo-Padrón, 2009d), and the neighboring
countries of its southern Uruguay (373) and Argentina
(535), members as a whole so-called Atlantic Slope
region of the Southern Cone of South America, to the
West of the Andes.
A preliminary diagnostic test summary balance sheet
and rough on the marine and continental mollusc
fauna, terrestrial and limnic/freshwater, occurring in
the geopolitical region of the Southern Brazil and
adjacent is presented.
Result of extensive research work in the field and
analysis of regional natural history reference generated
off dilated bibliographic production, developed in the
course of the last 13 years (1996-2009), aims to
characterize and integral organization of their unique
knowledge, emphasizing on the major ecological and
geographical factors that determine their presence, spatial location and occupancy of available environments.
From the geopolitical territory of the Santa Catarina’s
State, SC (Figure 1), specifically the region of the
"Galheta Ecological City Park", in the middle of east
coast of the Santa Catarina Island, Florianópolis
(Padrón, 1999: 81-82, 94-96) (Figure 2), begins
formally the malacological biogeographical history
of the research now in question. The geographical
coverage in the rest of the State space will radiate
out slowly, going beyond the State borders (Agudo,
2008c; Agudo-Padrón, 2008a), before finally reaching,
gradual and progressive, diverse surface integral of
Parallels, the comparative results regarding the total
numbers of species estimated for each of the portions
of the territory geo-spatial components analyzed
(Table 1), the Brazilian States of Paraná - PR (332)
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Table 1 Total species of marine and continental molluscs occurring in the Atlantic Slope region of the Southern Cone of South
America Sul, estimate until the month of April 2009
Considered forms
Marine moluscs
Aplacophora
Polyplacophora
Gastropoda
Scaphopoda
Bivalvia
Cephalopoda
Total
Continental molluscs
Terrestrial gastropoda
Freshwater gastropoda
Freshwater bivalvia
Total
Grand total
PR
3
85
105
193
83
33
23
139
332
Brazilian south region
SC
RS
-
Uruguai
Neighbours
Argentina
10
359
10
223
9
611
1
3
211
8
144
24
291
4
5
6
6
172
14
207
1
4
6
6
80
8
105
106
32
23
161
772
101
55
45
201
492
71
52
43
166
373
264
101
65
430
535
Figure 2 Santa Catarina Island (upper) and “Galheta Ecological
City Park" region, middle East Atlantic coast of the Island
(down), Florianópolis, SC, Southern Brazil
Figure 1 The Brazilian country and Santa Catarina’s State, SC,
territories in the general context to the South American
continent and your payment through the southern geopolitical
region, in the Atlantic section of the Southern Cone
conveniently described/characterized in the contribution of Agudo-Padrón (2008a: 78-79).
the Atlantic Slope of Southern Cone of South America
(Figure 3).
For the purposes of geographical coverage, was
considered the totality of space corresponding to the
only section of the Atlantic Slop of Southern Cone,
determined by Western face of the Andes located,
approximately, parallel between the Tropic of Capricorn
The methodological procedures used and applied in
the direction and course of the implementation of
this work, strongly developed in the period of 13
consecutive years (March 1996 - April 2009), are
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A regional group of great importance are the giant
native snails of the genus Megalobulimus Miller, 1878
(Figure 3), with a total of 27 reported species,
according Simone (2006: 206-222) (Table 2).
A quick look at the contents of the archaeologicalpaleontological literature essential to the improved
knowledge and study of fossil molluscs occurring in
Brazil (Magalhães and Mezzalira, 1953; Simone and
Mezzalira, 1994) reveals occurrence of the genus
Megalobulimus Miller, 1878 in the fossil record
between periods "Pleistocene" (1.8 million years ago)
and "Holocene/Recent" (in the Cenozoic-Quaternary
Figure 3 Santa Catarina’s State native sandbanks megasnails
Megalobulimus cf. elongatus (Bequaert, 1848) specimens (adults
and calfs – below, right) (Photos: A. I. Agudo-Padrón)
Table 2 Biogeographical relationship of the 27 recognized
species of native giant land snails of the genus Megalobulimus
Miller, 1878 recorded in the region with occurrence in the
Atlantic Slop region of the Southern Cone of South America
(Thomé et al., 2007: 10) and the parallel 50° S in the
Argentinean Patagonia, comprising the three States of
geopolitical South region of Brazil and neighboring
countries of Uruguay and Argentina (Agudo-Padrón,
2008b: 129).
Species
M. abbreviatus
M. arapotiensis
M. chionostomus
M. crassus
M. elongatus
M. felipponei
M. foreli
M. formicacorsii
M. globosus
M. grandis
M. granulosus
M. gummatus
M. haemastomus
M. intertextus
M. musculus
M. nodai
M. oblongus *
M. oosomus
M. ovatus
M. parafragilior
M. paranaguensis
M. proclivis
M. rolandianus
M. sanctipauli
M. terrestris
M. toriii
M. vestitus
Total species
To the resulting range of survey and construction
estimates on the total number of species, both native
and exotic (Agudo-Padrón and Lenhard, 2010; AgudoPadrón, 2011), occurring in each of the geopolitical
areas considered (Table 1) were primarily consulted
the classic historical contributions of Morretes (1949;
1953), which includes marine and continental areas
generally considered the geographical region, Simone
(2006), Thomé et al (2006; 2007), Agudo (2006; 2008a;
2008b), Amaral et al (2008) and Agudo-Padrón (2008a;
2008b; 2008d; 2009a; 2009b) for the continental land
and freshwater sources, as well as numerous sources
for the marine field in general.
The molluscs occurring in southern Brazil and neighboring countries in the region of the Atlantic Slope
of the Southern Cone have been usually studied in
isolation by a large number of authors, information
systematically organized initially by Morretes (1949;
1953), later revised these works mainly by García et
al (2008), Rios (1994; 2009), Thomê et al (2010)
and Viglione (2011), as to marine forms, as well as
Simone (2006) and Thomé et al (2006; 2007), in relation
to continental species, terrestrial and limnic/freshwater.
17
Southern Brazil
PR SC RS
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Uruguay
Argentina
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
18
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
11
7
9
7
International Journal of Aquaculture 2012, Vol.2, No.4, 15-20
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period), obviously being exploited by regional prehistoric man as a food resource as much as possible
artifact of their community and religious rituals
(Figure 4).
philic (typical of the Patagonian marine zoogeographical Province).
Sensibly, this condition determines in the local
environment a sensitive, diverse and heterogeneous
biotic faunal composition, whose characteristics are to
have a high potential on the contemporary practice of
marine malacoculture as well as incentive for the
development of accurate research on the marine biotic
diversity occurring in it (Agudo-Padrón and Bleicker,
2009). Its bio-geo-morphological composition includes,
as Müller and Lana (2004: 131), rocky shores, lagoons
and mangrove barrier between "Cabo Frio", in RJ, and
"Cabo de Santa Marta", in SC, as well as barrierlagoons , dunes and marshes from the "Cabo de Santa
Marta”, in SC, and the “Arroio Chui", in RS, and it
was from here a true succession of coastal plains that
alternate with cliffs and rocky shores, between the
countries of Uruguay and Argentina.
Figure 4 Diverse archaeological traces to the use of Megalobulimus cf. elongatus (Bequaert, 1848) by prehistoric man in
Southern Brazil (Photos: A. I. Agudo-Padrón)
Because of his marked oceanographic qualities,
translated at the meeting or clash of thermophilic and
cryophilic currents before specified, and diversification of available substrates and environments (which
is reflected comparatively higher rate in malacological
marine species occurring in it) (Table 1), the coast of
Santa Catarina, SC, presents itself as a place transition
for excellence in marine zoogeographical region of the
Atlantic Slope of the Southern Cone.
Located on a large "transition zone", still subject to
technical discussions because of the complexity of its
nuances and dynamic oceanographic (Wiggers, 2003:
119-121) (Figure 5, right), result of "convergence"
between two major ocean currents: “Brazil”, hot to the
North, and “Falkland or Malvinas”, cold to the South ,
apparently the section of the coast of Brazil between
“Rio de Janeiro - RJ” and “Santa Catarina - SC” regions
functions as an "ecological filter", preventing the
dispersal of species (Amaral et al., 2006: 27; Caetano
et al., 2007), they are thermophilic (typical of the
marine zoogeographical Caribbean Province) or cryo-
As to the State of Paraná (PR), whose marine mollusc
has been extensively studied in the first instance by
Frederico Lange de Morretes and Carlos Nicolau
Gofferjé (Colley, 2007), the size of its coastline - the
shortest coastline of southern Brazil (Agudo, 2008a)
and the Southern Cone in general - could explain why
no major problems of its comparative small number of
species (Table 1). For its part, the limited range of
environments and/or substrates, together with the
specifically cryophilic water conditions, answer why
the comparatively low numbers of species recorded
along the coasts of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), and the
countries of Uruguay and Argentina (Table 1), which
gradually decreases as you move down toward the
parallel 50° South Patagonia, despite having higher
coastlines in extension with respect to the State of
Santa Catarina (SC).
Figure 5 Bio-geo-morphological sectors of the Brazilian coast
(left) and transition area under influence of the Caribbean (hot North) and Patagonic (cold - South) (right) zoogeographic
provinces (Source: Amaral et al., 2006)
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regional natural history that has yet to be thoroughly
cleared, a mighty challenge for the new generations of
researchers in the areas of applied geography, biology,
zoology and environmental conservation.
In the case involving malacological continental species (terrestrial and limnic/freshwater), influenced its
occurrence over a vast region holds several notable
ecological factors and strong geographic contrasts
(rugged terrain, abundant river basins, different
environments and substrates, remarkably diverse biota,
the great plains of Patagonia to the south and
subtropical forests with different degrees of conservation in the North) (Thomé et al., 2007: 10) in the first
instance the portion of the physical-territorial Atlantic
Slope corresponding to the Argentine Republic presents as owner of the largest estimates obtained,
comfortably surpassing the remaining portions of
geopolitical considered (Table 1). This situation is not
surprising, since all widely recognized and discussed
in the technical background reference available
(Thomé et al., 2007: 12; Rumi et al., 2008), just taking
into account its large spatial extent of parallel and full
coverage of the bio-ecological and geographical
factors previously reported.
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20