Tropical Diversity (2019) 1 (1): 12-25.

ISSN: 2596-2388

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11099673

RESEARCH ARTICLE

12

Database of the marine-derived aquatic biota of the Amazon Basin

Banco de dados da biota aquática de origem marinha da Bacia Amazônica

Mauro J. Cavalcanti1* https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2389-1902, Edinaldo Nelson dos Santos-Silva2

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3340-4541, Luis José de Oliveira Geraldes Primeiro2 https://orcid.org/0000-

0002-3892-8969

1Ecoinformatics Studio, Caixa Postal 46521, CEP 20551-940, Rio de Janeiro, RJ.

2Laboratório de Plâncton, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André

Araújo, 2936, CEP 69060-000, Manaus, AM, Brasil.

*E-mail: maurobio@gmail.com

Received: December 16, 2018 / Accepted: February 18, 2019 / Published: February 19, 2019

Resumo Um banco de dados integrado,

desenvolvido com ferramentas de software livre, é

apresentado para catalogar e documentar a

diversidade biológica das espécies da biota

aquática de origem marinha da Bacia Amazônica,

com informações sobre nomenclatura, distribuição

geográfica, habitats, situação de conservação,

sequências genômicas e bibliografia relevante

para 225 espécies válidas de Porifera, Mollusca,

Arthropoda e Chordata. O banco de dados

completo encontra-se disponível para consulta em

http://mar.biotupe.org.

Palavras-Chave: Bacia Amazônica, bancos de dados,

informática para biodiversidade.

Abstract An integrated database, developed with

free software tools, is presented to catalog and

document the biological diversity of the marine-

derived species of the aquatic biota of the Amazon

Basin, with information on nomenclature,

geographic distribution, habitats, conservation

status, genomic sequences, and bibliography

relevant for 225 valid species of Porifera,

Mollusca, Arthropoda e Chordata. The complete

database is available for querying at

http://mar.biotupe.org.

Keywords: Amazon Basin, databases, biodiversity

informatics.

Cavalcanti et al. (2019)

Amazon Basin biodiversity database

13

Introduction

The Amazon Basin has the highest known

aquatic biodiversity, larger than any other

comparable area on Earth (Webb, 1995). The

Amazon also presents a larger proportion of

marine-derived species, as aquatic mammals,

fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, bryozoans, and

sponges, than other major tropical river basins

(Géry, 1969; Roberts, 1972; Fink & Fink, 1979;

Lovejoy, 1997; Lovejoy et al., 1998). However,

little is yet known about the geographic

distribution patterns of those organisms, what

creates difficulties for the understanding of the

historical events responsible for the huge

differentiation observed in this fauna.

The understanding of the history of the

Amazon Basin at the end of Tertiary is not yet

well known (Sioli, 1964; Hoorn, 1993, 1994;

Hoorn et al., 1995, 2010; Räsänen et al., 1997;

Monsch, 1998). Many explanations were

suggested, for example, for the tidal sediments

found in the State of Acre. Some authors (eg.

Räsänen et al., 1995) presented the hypothesis

that these deposits would result from an inner

(epicontinental) sea in South American, the

Amazon Sea. Another hypothesis for the origin of

these sediments is that they could represent the

deltaic deposition of a great lake, the Amazon

Lake (Frailey et al. 1988; Marroig & Cerqueira,

1997) from Pleistocene-Holocene age, or the

Pebas Lake (Wesselingh, 2006; Wesselingh &

Salo, 2006; Wesselingh et al. 2002) from Miocene

age. The modifications in open environments

along the coast of this inner sea or lake would

facilitate the migration of aquatic animals,

promoting the integration of faunas during the

geological history of the South American

continent. Brooks et al. (1981), Nelson (1984),

Lovejoy (1996, 1997), Lovejoy et al. (1998,

2006), Lovejoy & Araújo (2000), Lovejoy &

Collette (2001), Boeger & Kritsky (2002), Cooke

et al. (2012), and Bloom & Lovejoy (2017)

presented studies on the phylogeny and

biogeography of freshwater stingrays

(Potamotrygonidae), sardines (Engraulidae),

needlefishes (Belonidae), and drums (Sciaenidae)

in South America, suggesting that the marine

incursions in Amazonia, during the Miocene,

were crucial to the evolution ot these groups. With

regard to speciation patterns of freshwater fishes,

Lowe-McConnell (1969), Lundberg (1998),

Lundberg et al. (1998), and Hubert & Renno

(2006) suggested that large tropical river systems

like the Amazon would allow that some species

developed geographic isolation in the headwaters

of tributaries, postulating that tectonic movements

could lead to alterations in the ecological

conditions of the rivers (Hoorn et al., 1995;

Räsänen et al., 1997; Albert et al, 2006), which in

turn would propitiate the development of physical,

chemical, or biotic barriers among the populations

and allowing the occurrence of geographic

isolation within a hydrographic system. Hamilton

et al. (2001) and Domning (1982) presented

Cavalcanti et al. (2019)

Amazon Basin biodiversity database

14

similar inferences in relation to freshwater

cetaceans and sirenians, respectively.

A huge volume of data is available today

in the major biological collections of Amazonia

(Magalhães et al., 2001; Magalhães & Bonaldo,

2003) and in large online biodiversity databases

(Constable et al., 2010; Edwards et al., 2000;

Telenius, 2011). If adequately integrated and

analyzed by means of data-mining techniques and

statistical methods that make possible to detect

patterns and to identify factors and trends, these

data can provide valuable subsidies to the

conservation and sustainable use of the biological

resources represented by this biota. However, a

major challenge to achieving this goal is that,

though easily acessible from different sources,

these data are not available as integrated subsets

for specialized target groups as the marine-

derived aquatic biota of the Amazon Basin.

The goal of this study was to implement a

tool for cataloging and documenting the

biological diversity of the marine-derived species

of the aquatic biota of the Amazon Basin which

could provide such an integrated database with

information on nomenclature, geographic

distribution, habitats, conservation status,

genomic sequences, and bibliography relevant for

each species, compiled from several different

sources.

Materials and Methods

For building the database, we used a list

of species of selected taxonomic groups (sponges,

mollusks, crustaceans, fishes, and aquatic

mammals) representative of the marine-derived

aquatic biota of the Amazon Basin, compiled

from literature data, from the biological

collections of the major Amazonian research

institutions, and from those available in online

databases. This list was previously checked

against the Catalogue of Life

(www.catalogueoflife.org) taxonomic database to

identify and correct possible synonyms and other

nomenclatural problems.

The system was entirely based on open

source, freely available software tools. The

database was implemented using the database

management system MySQL (www.mysql.com),

on the basis of the generic scheme for biodiversity

databases ACACIA

(sites.google.com/site/acaciadb). A specialized

software tool developed in the Python

programming language (www.python.org) was

used to populate the database tables from several

sources available on the Internet which provide

interfaces to application programs, including five

data classes: (1) nomenclature and literature data:

CoL (www.catalogueoflife.org), FishBase

(www.fishbase.org), and WoRMS

(www.marinspecies.org); (2) genomic sequence

data: Genbank/NCBI

(www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank); (3) geographic

distribution data: Global Biodiversity Information

Facility (www.gbif.org), VertNet

(www.vertnet.org), and iDigBio

(www.idigbio.org); (4) conservation status data:

IUCN Red List (www.iucnredlist.org); (5) free

text notes: Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org).

Searches and analyses of these data can be

performed by means of a user-friendly Web

interface written in the language PHP

(www.php.net), with simple menus for browsing

and querying the database and generating

Cavalcanti et al. (2019)

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statistical reports (Fig. 1). Distribution maps are

automatically generated by the OpenLayers

(www.openlayers.org) integrated tool, on the

basis of the georeferenced occurrence records

available in the database (Fig. 2). Results of all

database queries can be exported to files in Excel,

CSV or KML standard formats for use with other

software as GIS and statistical packages, for more

elaborate display and further analysis.

Figure 1 – Database browser, displaying the results of a simple query.

Figure 2 – Distribution map for a selected species.

Results and Discussion

Data were obtained for 225 valid species

of marine-derived taxonomic groups, included in

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4 phyla, 6 classes, 19 orders, 29 families, and 74

genera (Table 1). These species present 621

names, with 317 synonyms. Chordata (58,7%) is

the phylum of the highest species frequency,

followed by Arthropoda (22,17%), Porifera

(18,7%), and Mollusca (0,43%). The most

frequent classes are Osteichthyes (43,48%),

Crustacea (22,17%), Demospongiae (18,7%), and

Chondrichthyes (12,17%). Decapoda (22,7%),

Haplosclerida (18,7%), Perciformes (18,7%),

Rajiformes (10,87%), and Clupeiformes (10%)

are the orders with the highest species frequency,

whereas Trichodactylidae (19,13%),

Potamotrygonidae (10,87%), Sciaenidae (8,7%),

and Spongillidae (7,39%) are the most frequent

families.

Table 1 – Checklist of the marine-derived aquatic biota of the Amazon Basin

PORIFERA

DEMOSPONGIAE

HAPLOSCLERIDA

Incertae Sedis

Acanthotylotra alvarengai Volkmer-Ribeiro et al., 2009

Balliviaspongia wirrmani Boury-Esnault & Volkmer, 1992

Metaniidae

Acalle recurvata (Bowerbank, 1863)

Drulia batesii (Bowerbank, 1863)

Drulia brownii (Bowerbank, 1863)

Drulia conifera Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1973

Drulia cristata (Weltner, 1895)

Drulia ctenosclera Volkmer & Mothes, 1981

Drulia geayi (Gravier, 1899)

Drulia uruguayensis Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1969

Metania fittkaui Volkmer-Ribeiro, 1979

Metania kiliani Volkmer-Ribeiro & Costa, 1992

Metania melloleitaoi (Machado, 1948)

Metania reticulata (Bowerbank, 1863)

Metania spinata (Carter, 1881)

Metania subtilis Volkmer-Ribeiro, 1979

Potamolepidae

Oncosclera atrata (Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1970)

Oncosclera intermedia Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1973

Oncosclera jewelli (Volkmer, 1963)

Oncosclera navicella (Carter, 1881)

Oncosclera petricola Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1967

Oncosclera ponsi (Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1968)

Oncosclera schubarti (Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1967)

Oncosclera spinifera (Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1973)

Oncosclera stolonifera Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1973

Oncosclera tonollii (Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1968)

Spongillidae

Corvoheteromeyenia australis (Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1966)

Corvoheteromeyenia heterosclera (Ezcurra de Drago, 1974)

Pottsiela pesae Volkmer-Ribeiro et al., 2010

Pottsiela spoliata (Volkmer-Ribeiro & Maciel, 1983)

Saturnospongilla carvalhoi Vokmer-Ribeiro, 1976

Trochospongilla amazonica (Weltner, 1895)

Trochospongilla delicata Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1967

Trochospongilla gregaria (Bowerbank, 1863)

Trochospongilla lanzamirandai Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1964

Trochospongilla minuta (Potts, 1887)

Trochospongilla paulula (Bowerbank, 1863)

Trochospongilla repens (Hinde, 1888)

Trochospongilla tenuissima Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1970

Trochospongilla variabilis Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1973

Uruguayella macandrewi (Hinde, 1888)

Uruguayella pygmaea (Hinde, 1888)

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Uruguayella ringueleti (Bonetto & Ezcurra de Drago, 1962)

MOLLUSCA

BIVALVIA

PHOLADOMYOIDA

Lyonsiidae

Anticorbula fluviatilis (H. Adams, 1860)

ARTHROPODA

CRUSTACEA

DECAPODA

Pseudothelphusidae

Brasiliothelphusa dardanelosensis Magalhaes & Turkay, 2010

Brasiliothelphusa tapajoense Magalhaes & Turkay, 1986

Fredius fittkaui (Bott, 1967)

Kingsleya gustavoi Magalhaes, 2004

Kingsleya junki Magalhaes, 2003

Kingsleya siolii Bott, 1967

Kingsleya ytupora Magalhaes, 1986

Sergestidae

Acetes marinus Omori, 1975

Acetes paraguayensis Hansen, 1919

Trichodactylidae

Bottiella cucutensis (Pretzmann, 1968)

Bottiella medemi (Smalley & Rodriguez, 1972)

Bottiella niceforei (Schmitt & Pretzmann, 1968)

Dilocarcinus pagei Stimpson, 1861

Dilocarcinus septemdentatus (Herbst, 1783)

Dilocarcinus truncatus Rodriguez, 1992

Fosteria venezuelensis (Rathbun, 1905)

Fredilocarcinus apyratii Magalhaes & Turkay, 1996

Fredilocarcinus musmuschiae (Pretzmann & Mayta, 1980)

Fredilocarcinus raddai (Pretzmann, 1979)

Fredius denticulatus (H. Milne-Edwards, 1853)

Fredius reflexifrons (Ortmann, 1897)

Goyazana castelnaui (H. Milne Edwards, 1853)

Moreirocarcinus chacei (Pretzmann, 1968)

Moreirocarcinus emarginatus (H. Milne-Edwards, 1853)

Moreirocarcinus laevifrons (Moreira, 1901)

Poppiana argentiniana (Rathbun, 1905)

Poppiana bulbifer Rodriguez, 1992

Poppiana dentata (Randall, 1840)

Rotundovaldivia latidens (A. Milne-Edwards, 1869)

Sylviocarcinus australis Magalhaes & Turkay, 1996

Sylviocarcinus devillei H. Milne-Edwards, 1853

Sylviocarcinus maldonadoensis (Pretzmann, 1978)

Sylviocarcinus pictus (H. Milne-Edwards, 1853)

Sylviocarcinus piriformis (Pretzmann, 1968)

Trichodactylus borellianus Nobili, 1896

Trichodactylus crassus A. Milne-Edwards, 1869

Trichodactylus dentatus H. Milne Edwards, 1853

Trichodactylus ehrhardti Bott, 1969

Trichodactylus faxoni Rathbun, 1905

Trichodactylus fluviatilis Latreille, 1928

Trichodactylus kensleyi Rodriguez, 1992

Trichodactylus panoplus (von Martens, 1869)

Trichodactylus parvus Moreira, 1912

Trichodactylus petropolitanus (Goldi, 1886)

Trichodactylus quinquedentatus Rathbun, 1893

Valdivia camerani (Nobili, 1896)

Valdivia haraldi Bott, 1969

Valdivia novemdentata (Pretzmann, 1968)

Valdivia serrata harttii (Rathbun, 1905)

Valdivia serrata serrata White, 1847

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Zilchiopsis collastinensis (Pretzmann, 1968)

Zilchiopsis cryptodus (Ortmann, 1983)

Zilchiopsis oronensis (Pretzmann, 1968)

CHORDATA

CHONDRICHTHYES

CARCHARHINIFORMES

Carcharhinidae

Carcharhinus leucas (Muller & Henle, 1839)

PRISTIFORMES

Pristidae

Pristis pectinata Latham, 1794

Pristis pristis (Linnaeus, 1758)

RAJIFORMES

Potamotrygonidae

Heliotrygon gomesi Carvalho & Lovejoy, 2011

Heliotrygon rosai Carvalho & Lovejoy, 2011

Paratrygon ajereba (Muller & Henle, 1841)

Plesiotrygon iwamae Rosa, Castello & Thorson, 1987

Plesiotrygon nana Carvalho & Ragno, 2011

Potamotrygon boesemani Rosa, Carvalho & Almeida Wanderley, 2008

Potamotrygon brachyura (Gunther, 1880)

Potamotrygon constellata (Vaillant, 1880)

Potamotrygon falkneri Castex & Maciel, 1963

Potamotrygon henlei (Castelnau, 1855)

Potamotrygon humerosa Garman, 1913

Potamotrygon hystrix (Muller & Henle, 1841)

Potamotrygon leopoldi Castex & Castello, 1970

Potamotrygon magdalenae (Dumeril, 1865)

Potamotrygon marinae Deynat, 2006

Potamotrygon motoro (Muller & Henle, 1841)

Potamotrygon ocellata (Engelhardt, 1912)

Potamotrygon orbignyi (Castelnau, 1855)

Potamotrygon schoederi Fernandez-Yepez, 1958

Potamotrygon schuhmacheri Castex, 1964

Potamotrygon scobina Garman, 1913

Potamotrygon signata Garman, 1913

Potamotrygon tatianae Silva & Carvalho, 2011

Potamotrygon tigrina Carvalho, Sabaj Perez & Lovejoy, 2011

Potamotrygon yepezi Castex & Castello, 1970

OSTEICHTHYES

ANGUILIFORMES

Ophichthidae

Stictorhinus potamius Bohlke & McCosker, 1975

ATHERINIFORMES

Belonidae

Belonion apodion Collette, 1966

Belonion dibranchodon Collette, 1966

Potamorrhaphis eigenmanni Miranda Ribeiro, 1915

Potamorrhaphis guianensis (Jardine, 1843)

Potamorrhaphis petersi Collette, 1974

Pseudotylosurus angusticeps (Gunther, 1866)

Pseudotylosurus microps (Gunther, 1866)

BATRACHOIDIFORMES

Batrachoididae

Potamobatrachus trispinosus Collette, 1995

Thalassophryne amazonica Steindachner, 1876

BELONIFORMES

Hemiramphidae

Hyporhamphus brederi (Fernandez-Yepez, 1948)

CLUPEIFORMES

Clupeidae

Rhinosardinia amazonica (Steindachner, 1879)

Rhinosardinia bahiensis (Steindachner, 1879)

Engraulidae

Amazonsprattus scintilla Roberts, 1984

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Anchovia surinamensis (Gunther, 1868)

Anchoviella alleni (Myers, 1940)

Anchoviella carrikeri Fowler, 1940

Anchoviella guianensis (Eigenmann, 1912)

Anchoviella jamesi (Jordan & Seale, 1926)

Anchoviella juruasanga Loeb, 2012

Anchoviella manamensis Cervigon, 1982

Anchoviella nattereri (Steindachner, 1879)

Anchoviella perezi Cervigon, 1987

Anchoviella vaillanti (Steindachner, 1908)

Jurengraulis juruensis (Boulenger, 1898)

Lycengraulis batesii (Gunther, 1868)

Lycengraulis limnichthys Schultz, 1949

Pterengraulis atherinoides (Linnaeus, 1766)

Pristigasteridae

Ilisha amazonica (Miranda Ribeiro, 1920)

Pellona altamazonica Cope, 1872

Pellona castelnaeana Valenciennes, 1847

Pellona flavipinnis (Valenciennes, 1837)

Pristigaster cayana Cuvier, 1829

Pristigaster whiteheadi Menezes & de Pinna, 2000

ELOPIFORMES

Megalopidae

Megalops atlanticus Valenciennes, 1847

GOBIESOCIFORMES

Gobiesocidae

Gobiesox juradoensis Fowler, 1944

Gobiesox multitentaculus (Briggs, 1951)

Gobiesox nudus (Linnaeus, 1758)

MUGILIFORMES

Mugilidae

Agonostomus monticola (Bancroft, 1834)

Mugil trichodon Poey, 1875

PERCIFORMES

Eleotridae

Dormitator lophocephalus Hoedeman, 1951

Dormitator maculatus (Bloch, 1792)

Eleotris amblyopsis (Cope, 1871)

Eleotris picta Kner, 1863

Eleotris pisonis (Gmelin, 1789)

Microphilypnus acangaquara Caires & Figueiredo, 2011

Microphilypnus amazonicus Myers, 1927

Microphilypnus macrostoma Myers, 1927

Microphilypnus ternetzi Myers, 1927

Gobiidae

Awaous banana (Valenciennes, 1837)

Awaous flavus (Valenciennes, 1837)

Awaous tajasica (Lichtenstein, 1822)

Gobioides broussonnetii Lacepede, 1800

Gobioides grahamae Palmer & Wheeler, 1955

Gobioides peruanus (Steindachner, 1880)

Sicydium hildebrandi Eigenmann, 1918

Sicydium punctatum Perugia, 1896

Sicydium rosenbergii (Boulenger, 1899)

Percichthyidae

Percichthys chilensis Girard, 1855

Percichthys colhuapiensis MacDonagh, 1955

Percichthys laevis (Jenyns, 1840)

Percichthys melanops Girard, 1855

Percichthys trucha (Valenciennes, 1833)

Sciaenidae

Pachypops fourcroi (Lacepede, 1802)

Pachypops pigmaeus Casatti, 2002

Pachypops trifilis (Muller & Troschel, 1848)

Pachyurus adspersus Steindachner, 1879

Pachyurus bonariensis Steindachner, 1879

Pachyurus calhamazon Casatti, 2001

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Pachyurus francisci (Cuvier, 1830)

Pachyurus gabrielensis Casatti, 2001

Pachyurus junki Soares & Casatti, 2000

Pachyurus paucirastrus Aguilera, 1983

Pachyurus schomburgkii Gunther, 1860

Pachyurus squamipennis Agassiz, 1831

Pachyurus stewarti Casatti & Chao, 2002

Petilipinnis grunniens (Schomburgk, 1843)

Plagioscion auratus (Castelnau, 1855)

Plagioscion casattii Aguilera & Rodrigues de Aguilera, 2001

Plagioscion montei Soares & Casatti, 2000

Plagioscion squamosissimus (Heckel, 1840)

Plagioscion surinamensis (Bleeker, 1873)

Plagioscion ternetzi Boulenger, 1895

PLEURONECTIFORMES

Achiridae

Achirus novoae Cervigon, 1982

Apionichthys dumerili Kaup, 1858

Apionichthys finis (Eigenmann, 1912)

Apionichthys menezesi Ramos, 2003

Apionichthys nattereri (Steindachner, 1876)

Apionichthys rosai Ramos, 2003

Apionichthys sauli Ramos, 2003

Apionichthys seripierriae Ramos, 2003

Catathyridium garmani (Jordan, 1889)

Catathyridium grandirivi (Chabanaud, 1928)

Catathyridium jenynsii (Gunther, 1862)

Catathyridium lorentzii (Weyenbergh, 1877)

Hypoclinemus mentalis (Gunther, 1862)

Pnictes asphyxiatus (Jordan, 1889)

TETRAODONTIFORMES

Tetraodontidae

Colomesus asellus (Muller & Troschel, 1849)

Colomesus psittacus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Colomesus tocantinensis Amaral et. al, 2013

MAMMALIA

CETACEA

Delphinidae

Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais & Deville,1853)

Sotalia guianensis (P.-J. van Beneden, 1864)

Iniidae

Inia araguaiensis Hrbek et al., 2014

Inia geoffrensis boliviensis d'Orbigny, 1834

Inia geoffrensis geoffrensis de Blainville,1817

Inia geoffrensis humboldtiana Pilleri and Gihr, 1978

SIRENIA

Trichechidae

Trichechus inunguis Natterer, 1883

As of the geographic distribution of the species in

the Amazon Basin, there are 5,689 occurrence

records from 2,570 localities. Potamorrhaphis

guianensis with 411 records (7,22%), Percichthys

trucha with 351 records (6,17%), Plagioscion

squamosissimus with 347 records (6,1%),

Colomesus asellus with 241 records (4,24%), and

Amazonsprattus scintilla with 203 records

(3,57%) are the species with the highest number

of records.

There are 2,502 nucleotide sequences and

1,507 protein sequences for 69 species (30% of

the total) in the database, of which 18 species

present more then 40 sequences and the remaining

present from 2 to 36 sequences.

With relation to conservation status,

following the criteria of IUCN, 3 species

Cavalcanti et al. (2019)

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(Bottiella cucutensis, Bottiella medemi, and

Trichechus inunguis) are included in category

Vulnerable (VU), 2 (Pristis pectinata and Pristis

pristis) in category Critically endangered (CR), 2

(Carcharhinus leucas and Potamotrygon

magdalenae) in category Near threatened (NT)

and 1 (Trichodactylus crassus) in category

Endangered (EN), with 42 species included in

category Least concern (LC), 29 in category

Deficient data (DD) and 151 in category Not

evaluated (NE). No species is included in the

categories Extinct in the wild (EW) or Extinct

(EX).

Caution is required in interpreting these

figures on the conservation status of marine-

derived species from the Amazon Basin, as

there are no global estimates in the literature on

how much of this biota is still unknown and not

properly documented. Thus, the two species of

Pristis listed as “Critically endangered” are not

endemic of the Amazon Basin and, in fact, are

not obligate freshwater species, despite their

ability to live in freshwater habitats (Thorson,

1974); the same applies to Carcharhinus

leucas, one of the species listed as “Near

threatened” (Thorson, 1972). In both cases, the

conservation status applies to these species as a

whole and does not imply that they are

endangered or threatened in the Amazon Basin:

in this regard, Fernandez-Carvalho et al. (2014)

found that the Amazon estuary harbors the

largest remaining population of P. pristis in the

Atlantic. On the other hand, Trichodactylus

crassus, the only species listed as

“Endangered”, comprises a sixth of the

freshwater crabs of the world facing a high risk

of extinction (

Cumberlidge et al., 2009

), but its

geographic distribution is restricted to localities

of the Atlantic Forest and

Caatinga (Almeida et

al., 2008; Souza-Carvalho, 2013), therefore

outside the Amazon Basin. What should really be

emphasized is the very large number of species

(151 out of 225 species in the database, or 67% of

the total) that have not even had their

conservation status evaluated.

The complete database of the marine-

derived aquatic biota of the Amazon Basin is

available for querying at http://mar.biotupe.org.

Conclusions

A major result of this study was the

development and public availability of a

comprehensive database on the marine-derived

aquatic biota of the Amazon Basin. Currently, this

database is the only such initiative even

implemented in the world, consolidating the

available data on this biota all over its geographic

range from many distributed sources. Besides, the

free, generic, and flexible information technology

developed for implementing the database (the

ACACIA scheme for taxonomic databases and

associated software) can be used for the

development of such integrated biodiversity

databases targeting other biotas and taxonomic

groups of interest, as for example, the marine-

derived aquatic biotas of the Congo/Zambezi and

Ganges/Mekong/Yangtze river basins.

Acknowledgements

Cavalcanti et al. (2019)

Amazon Basin biodiversity database

22

We thank Debora Drucker, Paulo Roberto

Duarte Lopes, and Paulo Gorgosinho for

reviewing the original manuscript and providing

constructive criticisms and valuable suggestions.

The authors remain responsible for any errors and

omissions.

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