摘要
Knowledge of the biodiversity of Brazilian reef ecosystems has expanded in recent years with several new species. Brazil is considered an important province because it has the only true reefs in the South Atlantic. This study identified the endemism of benthic invertebrate species of the Brazilian reefs. The reef coast is approximately 600 km long and extends from the state of Rio Grande do Norte to south coast of the Bahia state, with many coral and sandstone reefs near the shoreline and in the offshore zone, where the platform top remains exposed during low tides; and also on the Abrolhos region has isolated columns and offshore banks. Four offshore sites within the EEZ （Exclusive Economic Zone） were also included in this review. This study was based on the invertebrate benthic diversity existing on the northeastern coast, represented by Porifera with 450 spp, Cnidaria Scleractinia 16 spp and Echinodermata 51 spp. Of these, 102 species are endemic to Brazilian reefs, including Porifera with 86 spp （18,44%）, Cnidaria Scleractinia 8 spp （50%）, and Echinodermata 8 spp （2.93%）. The results reflect the recent increase in taxonomic studies, and identify a large number of endemic species among the benthic invertebrate fauna of the Brazilian reefs.
