First record of the exotic Indothais lacera (Gastropoda, Muricidae) in Brazil

Abstract

Bioinvasions are one of the main causes of the decline of native biodiversity. Indothais lacera (Born, 1778) is a carnivorous gastropod, native to the Indo-Pacific. We present the first records of I. lacera on the Brazilian coast and the first record of this invasive species in the Western Atlantic. The specimens were found in two locations in the Baía de Todos os Santos, Bahia state, northeast of Brazil. Live specimens were collected in the Itapagipe Peninsula, in Ribeira, Salvador, and dry samples (empty shells) were collected in the extreme north of Itaparica Island. Molecular analyses indicate that there was more than one event of introduction of I. lacera in the bay and alert to the potential impacts that this species can have on the benthic community in the region. We suspect that this exotic species is affecting a native population of Thaisella, which was previously locally abundant but has since become rare.