The Arvoredo Marine Biological Reserve covers an extensive area including the islands Arvoredo, Galés and Deserta and a small rocky outcrop called São Pedro. The survey of ascidians was accomplished with scuba dive, only in shallow water (5-17 m deep). Twenty-six species are here registered, among which Lissoclinum perforatum (Giard, 1872), L. verrilli (Van Name, 1902) and Leptoclinides latus Monniot, 1983 represent new reports to Brazil, and other 19 species represent new reports to the State of Santa Catarina. Together with the results of the present work, 34 ascidian species have already been reported from Santa Catarina, of the which 22 are remarkably tropical. This scenery doesn't represent the total diversity of the Reserve, since three new species will be described in another publication and the most exposed and deep places of the islands were not sampled.
Biodiversity; taxonomy
