In this paper, two individuals of Opsanus caught in the coast of Paraná (the first records of this genus in the southern Brazil) were identified as Opsanus beta (Goode & Bean, 1880). Such speciemens were compared with the type series of Opsanus brasiliensis Rotundo, Spinelli & Zavalla-Camin, 2005 (originally described from the coast of Santos, São Paulo), and with the literature data. As a result, Opsanus brasiliensis is herein regarded as a junior synonym of O. beta, and so the exemplars of Opsanus found at the Brazilian coast are exotic. It is herein postulated that O. beta would have invaded the Brazilian coast through ballast water released by vessels that sailed from the natural areas of occurrence of such species.
Opsanus beta; taxonomy; distribution
