Tecamebas em sedimentos do rio Tramandaí e da lagoa do Passo, planície costeira norte do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Abstract

The Tramandai River and the Passo Lagoon are fluvial-lacustrine systems inserted in the north of the coastal plain of the Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Bottom siliciclastic sediments revealed 71 distinct taxa of testate amoebae in the 5.793 analyzed specimens. Pontigulasia compressa Carter, 1864, Difflugia oblonga f. tenuis Penard, 1890, Centropyxis platystoma (Penard), 1890 and Cucurbitella dentata var. simplex f. trilobata Gauthier-Lievre and Thomas, 1960 are the most frequent species, the former three constant, as well as Centropyxis aculeata (Ehrenberg) Penard, 1902. The species diversity of testate amoebae present in the bottom sediments of the study area are analyzed herein, aiming to expand the knowledge about geographic distribution and biodiversity of these microorganisms in the coastal plain of Rio Grande do Sul State. Key words: testate amoebae, Tramandai River, Passo Lagoon, coastal plain, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.