Abstract

HEREU, Clara M.; SUAREZ-MORALES, Eduardo  and  LAVANIEGOS, Bertha E.. Record of the rare oceanic salp Helicosalpa komaii (Tunicata: Thaliacea: Salpida) in the Northeast Pacific. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2014, vol.85, n.2, pp.624-629. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.7550/rmb.36638.

We report for the first time the presence of a rare salp Helicosalpa komaii (Ihle and Ihle-Landenberg, 1936) on the west coast of Baja California peninsula (26°52.7' N, 117°09.2' W). The single specimen recorded was a solitary zooid of 200 mm length and 90 ml of displacement volume. It was recognized by having a distinctive highly convoluted heart-shaped dorsal tubercle. The total number of muscle fibers in the solitary zooid (MI to MVII= 517) surpassed that of the other 2 known congeners supporting its identity as H. komaii. H. komaii increases to 29 the total number of salps species reported in coastal and oceanic waters off north-central Baja California (gamma diversity). We hypothesize that the presence of H. komaii in the study area may be the result of onshore intrusions of subtropical waters originating west-southwest of the California Current domain.

Keywords : salps; marine zooplankton; pelagic tunicates; California Current; Baja California.