Range extension of Scorpaena inermis (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae) in the southwestern Atlantic

Abstract

Scorpaena inermis is recorded for the third time in the southwestern Atlantic. The known previous records of the species from Brazilian coast was collected Alagoas and Rio Grande do Norte states, prior of which the species was supposed to occur only in the northwestern Atlantic, from Georgia, USA, to Suriname and French Guiana. Here we report on two specimens that were collected in the northeastern Brazil and were deposited in Brazilian institutions. These new reports of S. inermis in Brazilian waters extend the geographic distribution of this species in the western Atlantic and the interval of three morphometric features.