Echinodermata from Barra de Mamanguape, Northeast of Brazil, Tropical Southwestern Atlantic

The Mamanguape River estuary represents an important environment for marine species, where there are the combination of soft-bottoms and reefs zones. The present study reports on the echinoderm species inhabiting Barra de Mamanguape, at Northeast coast of Brazil. A total of 83 specimens were analyzed, belonging to 13 species, 10 families and the classes Crinoidea, Ophiuroidea, Echinoidea and Holothuroidea. The Ophiuroidea was the most representative with seven species. The crinoid Tropiometra carinata (Lamarck, 1816) and the ophiuroid Ophiophragmus luetkeni (Ljungman, 1872) were new records for Paraíba coast. Concise taxonomic descriptions, figures and ecological notes for recorded species were provided. Comparisons between young and adult specimens of Ophioderma appressa (Say, 1825) were included. This brings information about the arrangement of species in the ecosystem, besides contributes to fill knowledge gaps about echinoderms from Northeast coast.