Documenting the ichthyofauna and the current conservation status of one of the largest Brazilian bays

Abstract

Taxonomic inventories provide substantial subsidies for the management and study of environmental impacts on ecosystems. Our study aims to present an updated checklist of the ichthyofauna occurring in Todos os Santos Bay (TBS, Bahia state, Brazil), by compiling information published in the literature and data from scientific collections. We assessed 6553 lots from 11 collections and the OBIS-BR database, 55 articles, and two books. We recorded total of 414 species belonging to 33 orders and 96 families. The families Sciaenidae, Gobiidae, Carangidae and Labridae had the highest number of species. The genus Stellifer was the most representative in terms of number of species. Two exotic species of Teleostei were recorded. Thirty-three species were considered as threatened, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, global level), 29 by the ordinance of the Ministry of Environment (MMA nº 148/2022, national level, Brazil), and 17 by the ordinance of the Secretariat of the Environment (SEMA nº 37 de 08/15/2017, regional level, Bahia state). Most of the species are associated with muddy substrates and have a tropical distribution. This list provides information that can provide a significant subsidy to the knowlegde of the ichthyofauna of the TSB and the Marine Ecoregion of Eastern Brazil.