Occurrence of <i>Microdesmus bahianus</i> and <i>M. longipinnis</i> (Teleostei: Microdesmidae) larvae and juveniles in estuaries of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil

Abstract

Microdesmidae includes five gobioid genera of small, slender, burrowing fish found along the coast of tropical seas and estuaries. Microdesmus is  distributed in the eastern Pacific, and the eastern and western Atlantic, being the most speciose genus, with 16 species. M. bahianus and M. longipinnis have
been reported off the Brazilian states of Bahia, Alagoas, Pernambuco and Espírito Santo. Monthly ichthyoplankton samples were taken with a 0.5 mm plankton net. Larvae and juveniles were collected in the estuaries of Jaguaribe, Itapessoca, and Formoso along the coast of Pernambuco between June 2000 and October 2002. Fifteen specimens of M. longipinnis were collected; 12 from Formoso (18.3-60.0 mm SL); 2 in Jaguaribe (18.4 and 19.2 mm SL); and one in Itapessoca (21.1 mm). A single 13.9 mm SL M. bahianus was caught in Jaguaribe in April 2001 and represents the first record for Pernambuco and the northern most distribution of the species along the Brazilian coast.