Abstract

We evaluated the taxonomic composition of decapod crustaceans from the continental shelf of the Brazilian state of Sergipe. The specimens were collected during two field campaigns that covered the entire shelf length, at depths of 5–30 m. In the first campaign (“Petro-UFS”), four samplings took place between 1999−2000. In the second one (“Penaeid”), monthly samplings were carried out in 2013−2014, and covered an area at and between two important estuaries. Overall, we examined 74,387 decapod crustacean specimens. These specimens belonged to 27 families and 78 species, of which 26 species are newly recorded from Sergipe. Considering these results and previous records, Sergipe now has 121 species of marine decapod crustaceans, which represents only ~20% of the species recorded in the northern and northeastern Brazil. This gap indicates that the crustacean richness of Sergipe is probably underestimated and likely to increase with further samplings, especially on artificial rocky shores, rhodoliths and algae banks, small coralline formations, and other unexplored estuarine habitats.