Two new species of Styela (Tunicata: Ascidiacea) from the tropical West Atlantic Ocean.

Two new species of the genus Styela are described, with very rare characteristics in this genus: both are shallow-water and tropical, with more than two gonads in each side of the body. Styela panamensis sp. nov.

A large marine Caribbean mushroom field: description of Eudistoma amanitum sp. nov. (Ascidiacea: Polycitoridae).

Numerous colonies of Eudistoma amanitum sp. nov. have been collected in Caribbean waters.

Investigating the widespread introduction of a tropical marine fouling species.

Little is known about the number and rate of introductions into terrestrial and marine tropical regions, and if introduction patterns and processes differ from temperate latitudes. Botryllid ascidians (marine invertebrate chordates) are an interesting group to study such introduction differences because several congeners have established populations across latitudes. While temperate botryllid invasions have been repeatedly highlighted, the global spread of tropical Botrylloides nigrum (Herdman, 1886) has been largely ignored.

New species of Didemnidae (Tunicata: Ascidiacea) from the tropical coast of Brazil.

The family Didemnidae includes 20% of all known ascidians with six genera in the Atlantic. Here, we describe five new species in the Didemnidae from central coastal Brazil. Four species are in the genus Didemnum and were found in Bahia (D.

Challenges and rewards of research in marine natural products chemistry in Brazil.

Brazil is blessed with a great biodiversity, which constitutes one of the most important sources of biologically active compounds, even if it has been largely underexplored. As is the case of the Amazon and Atlantic rainforests, the Brazilian marine fauna remains practically unexplored in the search for new biologically active natural products. Considering that marine organisms have been shown to be one of the most promising sources of new bioactive compounds for the treatment of different human diseases, the 8000 km of the Brazilian coastline represents a great potential for finding new pharmacologically active secondary metabolites.