Cladocera (Crustacea; Branchiopoda) from the Brazilian Cerrado – the richness and species composition for Goiás state.

Goiás state, situated in the Cerrado biome harbors several water bodies belonging to the Paraná, São Francisco, and Tocantins-Araguaia hydrographic regions. However, there are several gaps in the knowledge about the diversity and geographic distribution of aquatic invertebrates in the state, including microcrustaceans of the Superorder Cladocera. Thus, this study aims to elaborate an updated list of cladoceran species occurring in Goiás, using data from 37 literature sources and original samples from different ecosystems and localities. The history and type of publications were evaluated. The number of studies between 1988 and 2022 and the type of publications and species richness were listed. The literature data indicated that most studies reporting or describing species for Goiás were found in papers published in indexed journals (75%). Tocantins-Araguaia was the hydrographic region with the highest number of studies (20). The number of observed species was strongly related to the number of studies (r2 = 0.59; p < 0.0001). When observing literature data and findings from sampling, 92 species were recorded with five news reports: Scapholeberisfreyi, Grimaldina freyi, Parvalona parva, Chydorusbrevilabris, and Picripleuroxus quasidenticulatus. The number and composition of species in Goiás state should be considered relevant. However, the observed richness is lower than expected (114 spp), suggesting the need for increased sampling effort. The focus of this sampling should preferably occur in areas lacking information. Goiás state, situated in the Cerrado biome harbors several water bodies (streams, rivers, wetlands, ponds, reservoirs) belonging to the Paraná, São Francisco, and Tocantins-Araguaia hydrographic regions. However, there are several gaps in the knowledge about the diversity and geographic distribution of aquatic invertebrates in the state, including microcrustaceans of the Superorder Cladocera. In our study, we analyzed data from the literature sources and collected samples in new localities between macrophytes and sediments. The findings suggest the occurrence of 92 species in Goiás state and the presence of five new reports: Scapholeberisfreyi, Grimaldina freyi, Parvalona parva, Chydorusbrevilabris, and Picripleuroxus quasidenticulatus. Alona elisae is endemic for region studied. Such results indicate the megadiversity of cladocerans in Cerrado biome, large than the other countries from the Neotropical zone. Despite the increase in sampling effort for the geographic region studied, many parts of Goiás state are still unsampled. This suggests the still unknown diversity potential for the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]