SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online

 
vol.48Influencia de la variabilidad ambiental sobre la distribución y la abundancia del delfín moteado pantropical (Stenella attenuata) en el Pacífico central mexicanoCaracterización morfológica de huevos de trematodos de tortugas verdes (Chelonia mydas) encontrados en la costa del estado de Espírito Santo, Brasil índice de autoresíndice de materiabúsqueda de artículos
Home Pagelista alfabética de revistas  

Servicios Personalizados

Revista

Articulo

Indicadores

Links relacionados

  • No hay artículos similaresSimilares en SciELO

Compartir


Ciencias marinas

versión impresa ISSN 0185-3880

Cienc. mar vol.48  Ensenada ene./dic. 2022  Epub 17-Nov-2023

https://doi.org/10.7773/cm.y2022.3308 

Articles

First record of the cryptic fishes Ptereleotris calliura (Gobiidae) and Liopropoma rubre (Serranidae) in the Veracruz Reef System, Mexico

Mariana Rivera-Higueras1  * 
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1623-6264

Horacio Pérez-España2 
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4888-4688

1Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas, Port Aransas, Texas 78373, United States of America.

2Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Pesquerías, Universidad Veracruzana, 94290 Boca del Río, Veracruz, Mexico.


Abstract.

Based on several in situ observations, the species Ptereleotris calliura (family Gobiidae) and Liopropoma rubre (family Serranidae) are added to the taxonomic fish inventory of the Veracruz Reef System, Veracruz, Mexico. While P. calliura was found on sandy substratum in a coral reef lagoon, L. rubre was detected on a reef slope. With the addition of these 2 species, the checklist of reef fishes in the Veracruz Reef System is expanded to 479 species. Given these findings, we predict that additional survey efforts (beyond visual transects) will reveal more previously unrecorded species of cryptic fishes in the Veracruz reef system.

Key words: coral reef fishes; peppermint basslet; blue dartfish; Veracruz; fish records

Resumen.

Con base en observaciones in situ, las especies Ptereleotris calliura (familia Gobiidae) y Liopropoma rubre (familia Serranidae) se agregan al inventario taxonómico de peces del Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano, Veracruz, México. Mientras que P. calliura se encontró en el sustrato arenoso de una laguna arrecifal, L. rubre se encontró en un talud arrecifal. Con el reporte de estas 2 especies, la lista de peces de arrecife en el Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano se amplía a 479 especies. Tomando en cuenta estos resultados, predecimos que esfuerzos de estudio adicionales (más allá de los transectos visuales) revelarán más especies de peces no registradas previamente en el Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano.

Palabras clave: peces arrecifales; cabrilla menta; gobio dardo azul; Veracruz; registro de peces

INTRODUCTION

The Veracruz Reef System (VRS) is the largest coral reef system on the continental shores of the southwest Gulf of Mexico (Tunnell et al. 2010). Located off the coast of the Port of Veracruz, Mexico, the VRS comprises 50 reefs and 6 islands (Liaño-Carrera et al. 2019). The VRS was declared a Marine Protected Area in 1992, now covering an area of approximately 65,000 ha (DOF 2012). Although interest in the ecology of the VRS has increased in the past decades (Granados-Barba et al. 2007), the reefs making up this system have been little explored in comparison with those in the northern Gulf of Mexico and Greater Caribbean. Currently the VRS fish assemblage includes 477 species (del Moral-Flores et al. 2013, 2020; Robertson et al. 2019), including 3 invasive species: the lionfish Pterois sp. (Santander-Monsalvo et al. 2012), the damselfish Neopomacentrus cyanomos (González-Gándara and de la Cruz-Francisco 2014), and the tube blenny Protemblemaria punctata (Argüelles-Jiménez et al. 2021).

As the largest continental reef system in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, the VRS is an important coral reef outpost and the center of an ecological reef corridor in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico that connects the Sistema Arrecifal Lobos Tuxpan in the north of the state of Veracruz and Arrecifes de los Tuxtlas in the south (Ortiz-Lozano et al. 2013). However, the limited connectivity of these reef tracts with other reefs in the Gulf of Mexico and Greater Caribbean has led to the establishment of a fairly unique assemblage of reef fishes at the VRS (Rangel-Avalos et al. 2007), which comprises several endemic species, such as the jarocho goby, Elacatinus jarocho (Taylor and Akins 2007); the cinta goby, Tigrigobius redimiculus (Taylor and Akins 2007); and the serranids Hypoplectrus castroaguirrei (del Moral-Flores et al. 2011) and Hypoplectrus atlahua (Tavera and Acero 2013).

The majority of biodiversity assessments in the VRS have been performed visually. However, visual censuses tend to overlook a substantial number of small-bodied, bottom-dwelling species (Brandl et al. 2018). Thus, it is likely that increased scrutiny of fish assemblages in the VRS will reveal predominantly cryptic species (Rangel-Avalos et al. 2007). As a consequence of increased scrutiny during surveys of reef fish communities and adjacent habitat in 2020, we recorded and visually documented 2 species of resident cryptic fish that had not been previously recorded in the VRS. With these reports the Veracruz fish assemblage increases to 479 species.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The VRS has been considered a marine protected area since 1992, and it comprises around ~65,000 ha, with approximately 50 reefs on the continental shelf and <50-m depths (Liaño-Carrera et al. 2019). The VRS is divided in 2 subareas by the outflow of the Jamapa river: (1) the northern reefs, directly off the coast of Veracruz, and (2) the southern reefs, off the coast of Antón Lizardo (Fig. 1). In the southern area of the VRS, visual, photographic, and videographic censuses of fishes in the reef lagoon and coral reef areas were carried out using scuba diving equipment to maximum depths of 25 m in 2020. All species encountered during those surveys were identified and described in this study using the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Atlantic fish taxonomic photographic database (https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/es/pages; accessed March 2021) and the guide by Humann and DeLoach (2002).

Figure 1 Veracruz Reef System, located in the southwest of the Gulf of Mexico. Top right triangle: Liopropoma rubre at Santiaguillo reef (19°08ʹ30.7ʺ N, 95°48ʹ33.5ʺ W). Bottom right triangle: Ptereleotris calliura at Cabezo reef (19°04ʹ47.1ʺ N, 95°52ʹ02.1ʺ W). Green shade: emerged reefs. 

RESULTS

During our surveys we found 2 reef fish species that were not previously recorded in the VRS: Ptereleotris calliura (Jordan y Gilbert, 1882) and Liopropoma rubre Poey, 1861. With their record the taxonomic checklist of fishes in the VRS increased to 479 species.

The species P. calliura can be identified by the following characteristics, which are visible to divers: very elongated body, compressed; head strongly compressed; mouth very oblique, opens above, lower jaw projecting; 2 separate pelvic fins; and caudal fin long and pointed. Its color pattern was as follows: bluish gray to pale lavender on the head, body, and caudal fin; yellowish anal and dorsal fins; the dorsal fins present a black stripe along the outer edge; and the caudal fin sometimes shows dark upper and lower margins. Figure 2a shows a photographic image of one P. calliura individual that confirms the morphological features described for this species.

Figure 2 Ptereleotris spp. (a) Ptereleotris calliura (total length: 12 cm) in the Cabezo Reef lagoon in the Veracruz Reef System, Mexico; photograph by MRH. (b) Ptereleotris helenae; photograph by Graham Edgar. 

Two Ptereleotris species are known to occur in the southwest Gulf of Mexico: P. calliura and Ptereleotris helenae. Morphologically, the biggest differences between the two are the shape of the caudal fin and coloration. Ptereleotris calliura has a long, pointed caudal fin, while that of P. helenae is oval and shorter (Fig. 2b). In addition, the dorsal and anal fins of P. helenae are greenish yellow, while P. calliura has red borders along the second dorsal fin, the anal fin, and the upper and lower edges of the caudal fin (Fig. 2).

During our surveys we found 4 individuals of P. calliura at a depth of 3 m in the reef lagoon of Cabezo Reef in December of 2020, at around 11:30 AM. These individuals were found in an area dominated by sand and coral rubble, in the vicinity of a seagrass meadow. Each individual measured approximately 12 cm in total length, and all of them sheltered in individual burrows.

The second previously unrecorded species we found was L. rubre, which can be identified by the following visible characteristics: moderately elongate and compressed body; pointed head, with a nearly horizontal upper profile; dorsal fin divided to its base between the spines and rays; and caudal fin slightly concave. The head, body, and tail fin were yellow brown, with 5 dark red-brown stripes. The tail had 2 joined black, white edged blotches on the rear edges of the upper and lower lobes, and the rear end of the second dorsal fin and the anal fin had a black, white-edged blotch. The white edging of the black blotches in the caudal, dorsal, and anal fins were confined to the outer part of each blotch and does not completely encircle the blotches.

Another species in the same genus that has been previously reported in the taxonomic inventory of Veracruz is Liopropoma carmabi. The 2 species, L. rubre and L. carmabi, differ in their coloration. Liopropoma carmabi has yellow head, body, and caudal fin, with 4-5 purple, red-edged stripes along the body; the caudal fin has 2 separate black, blue-ringed ocelli at the rear end of the upper and lower lobes; the second dorsal fin has a black, blue-edged ocellus. These 2 species can be easily distinguished by divers as follows: the white-edged black blotches on the tail of L. rubre are joined, while blotches in L. carmabi form a discrete blue-ringed ocellus on each caudal lobe. In addition, L. rubre has a large, white-tipped black blotch at the end of the anal fin, which is absent in L. carmabi (Fig. 3).

Figure 3 Liopropoma spp. (a) Liopropoma rubre (total length: 5 cm) in the Santiaguillo Reef in Veracruz Reef System, Mexico; photograph by MRH. (b) Liopropoma carmabi; photograph by Ross Robertson. 

We found a single L. rubre individual, approximately 5 cm long, at a depth of 9 m on the reef slope of Santiaguillo Reef in November of 2020 at around 10:30 AM. The fish sheltered behind a plate-shaped brain coral, Colpophilia natans (Houttuyn, 1772), and promptly retreated into the cave formed underneath the plate coral. However, the fish reappeared from the cave on 2 occasions, enabling us to examine, record, and photograph the individual clearly to determine that it was indeed L. rubre and not L. carmabi (Fig. 3).

DISCUSSION

The taxonomic fish inventory in the VRS is extensive and has increased substantially in the last years (Taylor and Akins 2007; del Moral-Flores et al. 2011, 2013, 2020; Tavera and Acero 2013; Robertson et al. 2019), mainly due to the report of cryptic species, which go undetected by traditional survey techniques (Smith-Vaniz et al. 2006). Visual census is the most used technique for the assessment of the reef fish community in Veracruz (González-Gándara et al. 2012, 2013; del Moral-Flores et al. 2013; Pérez-España et al. 2015; de la Cruz-Francisco and Franco-Mejía 2017). Using a different technique, Robertson et al. (2019) performed a survey that included the collection of cryptic species using clove oil, but L. rubre and P. calliura were not reported.

The 2 species reported here have been poorly documented in Veracruz reefs. Of the 2 species, L. rubre is the least documented. It was officially reported in the Sistema Arrecifal Lobos Tuxpan, northern reefs of Veracruz, in 2009 and anecdotally in Arrecifes de los Tuxtlas in 2014 (González-Gándara et al. 2014). It has been suggested that L. rubre is highly associated with mesophotic reefs (e.g., Bejarano et al. 2014), yet it has been reported in depths as shallow as 3 m (Baldwin and Robertson 2014). In this document, we recorded L. rubre in a large coral structure at 9 m depth, which is congruent with previous studies (Baldwin and Robertson 2014). Additionally, the finding of this species in a shallow range could indicate that the knowledge on the species in this depth range is scarce or that the influence of the VRS turbid waters, which reduce the levels of solar irradiance (Carricart-Ganivet et al. 2011), on the behavior of the coral reef fish community has not been widely explored.

Unlike L. rubre, P. calliura has been reported more widely, and it has been documented to occur at different depths in natural reefs in the Gulf of Mexico (Zarco-Perello et al. 2014, Streich et al. 2017) such as reefs on the coast of Texas and the Madagascar Reef in the Campeche Bank. In Veracruz P. calliura was officially reported in the Sistema Arrecifal Lobos Tuxpan (González-Gándara et al. 2012, 2013) and recently in Arrecifes de los Tuxtlas (González-Gándara 2020); however, it had not been reported in the VRS. With the addition of P. calliura to the VRS fish inventory, the distribution of this species can be confirmed along the Veracruz reef ecological corridor.

The continuous update of the fish inventory in the VRS highlights the need to perform different survey techniques focused on cryptic species to better understand the coral reef ecological dynamics (Smith-Vaniz et al. 2006). This necessity is stressed by the perturbations that take place in the VRS, mainly because it is located next to the second most important trading port in Mexico, which has been responsible for most of the deteriorating conditions of the reef (Ortiz-Lozano et al. 2013). However, other important perturbations that affect not only the fish community in the VRS but also the reef system include harvesting (Jiménez-Badillo 2008, Escamilla-Pérez et al. 2021); biological invasions (Santander-Monsalvo et al. 2012, González-Gándara and de la Cruz-Francisco 2014, Argüelles-Jiménez et al. 2021), as L. rubre is a lionfish prey (Morris and Akins 2009, Bejarano et al. 2015); pollution (Horta-Puga and Carriquiry 2014); climate change in a minor way, since the turbid waters likely reduce the levels of solar irradiance (Carricart-Ganivet et al. 2011); and habitat change (Horta-Puga 2003). Given the ongoing changes in coral reefs, a more complete document of the biodiversity and ecological contributions of the cryptic reef fishes in the VRS is fundamental. Therefore, we suggest that future studies use a variety of sampling strategies to survey the reef fish community more broadly and include approaches that enlighten the secretive biology of cryptic reef fish species in the area.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was made possible by the projects “Monitoring of the Veracruz Reef System” and “Invasive state of the regal demoiselle, Neopomacentrus cyanomos (Bleeker, 1856), in the southwest reefs of the Gulf of Mexico”, with the latter being supported by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. We thank Ross Robertson and Simon Brandl for their guidance and edits. We further thank Merari Contreras-Juárez for the map and Natural Mystic for diving support.

REFERENCES

Argüelles-Jiménez, J., Contreras-Juarez, M., Palacio-Pérez, E. 2021. Potential invasion of the Gulf of Mexico by Protemblemaria punctata (Teleostei: Chaenopsidae), a cryptobenthic fish endemic to Venezuela. Bull Mar Sci. 97(3):373-380. https://doi.org/10.5343/bms.2020.0014 [ Links ]

Baldwin, C.C., Robertson, D.R. 2014. A new Liopropoma sea bass (Serranidae, Epinephelinae, Liopropomoni) from deep reefs off Curaçao, southern Caribbean, with comments on depth distributions of Western Atlantic liopropomins. Zookeys. 409:71-92. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.409.7249 [ Links ]

Bejarano, I., Appeldoorn, R.S., Nemeth, M. 2014. Fishes associated with mesophotic coral ecosystems in La Parguera, Puerto Rico. Coral Reefs. 33:313-328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-014-1125-6 [ Links ]

Bejarano, S., Lohr, K., Hamilton, S., Manfrino, C. 2015. Relationships of invasive lionfish with topographic complexity, groupers, and native prey fishes in Little Cayman. Mar Biol. 162:253-266. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2595-3 [ Links ]

Brandl, S.J., Goatley, C.H.R., Bellwood, D.R., Tornabene, L. 2018. The hidden half: ecology and evolution of cryptobenthic fishes on coral reefs. Biol Rev. 93(4):1846-1873. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12423 [ Links ]

Carricart-Ganivet, J.P., Beltrán-Torres, A.U., Horta-Puga, G. 2011. Distribution and prevalence of coral diseases in the Veracruz Reef System, Southern Gulf of Mexico. Dis Aquat Organ. 95(3):181-187. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02359 [ Links ]

De la Cruz-Francisco, V., Franco-Mejía, J.C. 2017. Nivel invasivo de la especie exótica Neopomacentrus cyanomos (Bleeker, 1856) (Pomacentridae) dentro de la ictiofauna asociada a corales Orbicella spp. (Scleractinia:Merullidae) en el arrecife Enmedio, Sistema Arrecifal Lobos-Tuxpan. CICIMAR Oceánides. 32(2):51-61. [ Links ]

Del Moral-Flores, L.F., López-Segovia, E., Hernández-Arrellano, T. 2020. Nuevos registros de peces para el área marina del Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano, suroeste del Golfo de México = New fishes records in the marine area from Veracruz Reef System National Park, Southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Novit Caribaea. 16:169-176. https://doi.org/10.33800/nc.vi16.236 [ Links ]

Del Moral-Flores, L.F., Tello-Musi, J.L., Martínez-Pérez, J.A. 2011. Descripción de una nueva especie del género Hypoplectrus (Actinopterigy: Serranidae) del Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano, suroeste del Golfo de México = Description of a new species of the genus Hypoplectrus (Actinopterigy: Serranidae) from the Veracruz Reef System, southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Rev Zool. 22:1-10. [ Links ]

Del Moral-Flores, L.F., Tello-Musi, J.L., Reyes-Bonilla, H., Pérez-España, H., Martínez-Pérez, J.A. , Horta-Puga, G., Velazco-Mendoza, L.A., Álvarez-del-Castillo-Cárdenas, P.A. 2013. Lista sistemática y afinidades zoogeográficas de la ictiofauna del Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano, México = Systematic checklist and zoogeographic affinities of ichthyofauna from Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano, Mexico. Rev Mex Biodiv. 84(3):825-846. https://doi.org/10.7550/rmb.34912 [ Links ]

[DOF] Diario Oficial de la Federación. 2012 Nov 29. DECRETO que modifica al diverso por el que se declara área Natural Protegida, con el carácter de Parque Marino Nacional, la zona conocida como Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano. Mexico City: Secretaria de Gobernación. p. 1-13. [ Links ]

Escamilla-Pérez, B.E., Ortiz-Lozano, L., Molina-Rosales, D.O., Espinoza-Tenorio, A. 2021. Cultural importance of marine resources subject to fishing exploitation in coastal communities of Southwest Gulf of Mexico. Ocean Coast Manage. 208:105605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105605 [ Links ]

González-Gándara, C. 2020. La comunidad de peces del arrecife Palo Seco, Veracruz, golfo de México y su relación con los grupos morfofuncionales = The fish community of the Palo Seco reef, Veracruz, Gulf of Mexico and its relationship with morphofunctional groups. CienciaUAT. 14(2):34-50. https://doi.org/10.29059/cienciauat.v14i2.1347 [ Links ]

González-Gándara, C., de la Cruz-Francisco, V. 2014. Unusual record of the Indo-Pacific pomacentrid Neopomacentrus cyanomos (Bleeker, 1856) on coral reefs of the Gulf of Mexico. BioInvasions Rec. 3(1):49-52. http://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2014.3.1.09 [ Links ]

González-Gándara, C., de-la-Cruz-Francisco, V., Salas-Pérez, J.deJ., Domínguez-Barradas, C. 2012. Lista de los peces de Tuxpan, Veracruz, México = Inventory of fishes of Tuxpan, Veracruz, México. Rev Científica UDO Agrícola. 12(3):675-689 [ Links ]

González-Gándara, C., Domínguez-Barradas, C., de-la-Cruz-Francisco, V., Solís-Marín, F.A., Carricart-Ganivet, J.P. 2014. Esponjas, corales escleractinios, equinodermos y peces de arrecifes coralinos del norte y sur de Veracruz = Sponges, scleractinian corals, echinoderms and coral reef fish from the north and south of Veracruz. Informe final SNIB-CONABIO, proyecto No. JF124. México D.F.: Universidad Veracruzana. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias. 57 p. [ Links ]

González-Gándara, C., Lozano-Vilano, M.D.L., Vicencio-de-la-Cruz, F., Domínguez-Barradas, C. 2013. Peces del Sistema Arrecifal Lobos-Tuxpan, Veracruz, México = Fishes of the Reef System Lobos-Tuxpan, Veracruz, Mexico. Univ y Ciencia, Trop Húmedo. 28:191-208. [ Links ]

Granados-Barba, A., Abarca-Arenas, L.G., Vargas-Hernández, J.M. 2007. Investigaciones Científicas en el Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano = Scientific research in the Veracruz Reef System]. Universidad Autónoma de Campeche. ISBN 968-5722-53-6. 304 p. [ Links ]

Horta-Puga, G. 2003. Condition of selected reef sites in the Veracruz reef system (stony corals and algae). Atoll Res Bull. 469:360-369. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00775630.20.360 [ Links ]

Horta-Puga, G., Carriquiry, J.D. 2014. The last two centuries of lead pollution in the southern Gulf of Mexico recorded in the annual bands of the scleractinian coral Orbicella faveolata. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 92:567-573. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-014-1222-9 [ Links ]

Humann, P., Deloach, N. 2002. Reef Coral Identification: Florida, Caribbean & Bahamas. 3rd Ed. Jacksonville (FL): New World Publications. 481 p. [ Links ]

Jiménez-Badillo, L. 2008. Management challenges of small-scale fishing communities in a protected reef system of Veracruz, Gulf of Mexico. Fish Manag Ecol. 15(1):19-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2400.2007.00565.x [ Links ]

Liaño-Carrera, F., Camarena-Luhrs, T., Gómez-Barrero, A., Martos-Fernández, F.J., Ramírez-Macias, J.I., Salas-Monreal, D. 2019. New coral reef structures in a tropical coral reef system. Lat Am J Aquat Res. 47(2):270-281. https://doi.org/10.3856/vol47-issue2-fulltext-7 [ Links ]

Morris, J.A. Jr, Akins, J.L. 2009. Feeding ecology of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) in the Bahamian archipelago. Environ Biol Fishes. 86(3):389-398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-009-9538-8 [ Links ]

Ortiz-Lozano, L., Pérez-España, H., Granados-Barba, A., González-Gándara, C., Gutiérrez-Velázquez, A., Martos, J. 2013. The Reef Corridor of the Southwest Gulf of Mexico: Challenges for its management and conservation. Ocean Coast Manage. 86:22-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2013.10.006 [ Links ]

Pérez-España, H., Ávila-Gutiérrez, P.S., Melo-Merino, S.M., Verumen-Solórzano, P., Flores-Arévalo, R.R. 2015. Patrones interanuales e interarrecifales de las comunidades de peces, corales y equinodermos en el Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano. In: Granados-Barba, A., Ortiz-Lozano, L.D., Salas-Monreal, D., González-Gándara, C. (eds.), Aportes al conocimiento del Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano: hacia el Corredor Arrecifal del Suroeste del Golfo de México. Campeche (Mexico): Universidad Autónoma de Campeche. p. 159-178. [ Links ]

Rangel-Avalos, M.A., Jordan, L.K.B., Walker, B.K., Gilliam, D.S., Carvajal-Hinojosa, E., Spieler, R.E. 2007. Fish and coral reef communities of the Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano (Veracruz Coral Reef System National Park) Veracruz, Mexico: Preliminary Results. Proc 60th Gulf Caribb Fish Inst. 11:427-435. [ Links ]

Robertson, D.R., Pérez-España, H., Domínguez-Domínguez, O., Estapé, C.J., Estapé, A.M. 2019. An update to the inventory of shore-fishes from the Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano, Veracruz, México. Zookeys. 882:127-157. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.882.38449 [ Links ]

Santander-Monsalvo, J., López-Huerta, I., Aguilar-Perera, A., Tuz-Sulub, A. 2012. First record of the red lionfish (Pterois volitans [Linnaeus, 1758]) off the coast of Veracruz, Mexico. Bioinvasions Rec. 1(2):121-124. http://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2012.1.2.07 [ Links ]

Smith-Vaniz, W.F., Jelks, H.L., Rocha, L.A. 2006. Relevance of cryptic fishes in biodiversity assessments: A case study at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix. Bull Mar Sci. 79:17-48. [ Links ]

Streich, M.K., Ajemian, M.J., Wetz, J.J., Stunz, G.W. 2017. A comparison of fish community structure at mesophotic artificial reefs and natural banks in the western Gulf of Mexico. Mar Coast Fish. 9(1):170-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/19425120.2017.1282897 [ Links ]

Tavera, J., Acero, A.P. 2013. Description of a new species of Hypoplectrus (Perciformes: Serranidae) from the Southern Gulf of Mexico. Aqua Int J Ichthyol. 19(1):29-38. [ Links ]

Taylor, M.S., Akins, L. 2007. Two new species of Elacatinus (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from the Mexican coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Zootaxa. 1425(1):45-51. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1425.1.6 [ Links ]

Tunnell, J.W.Jr, Chávez EA, Withers K. 2010. Coral reef of the Southern Gulf of Mexico = Arrecifes coralinos del sur del golfo de México. No. 577.789C657.2010. USA: Texas A&M University Press. 293 p. [ Links ]

Zarco-Perello, S., Moreno-Mendoza R, Simões N. 2014. Checklist of fishes from Madagascar Reef, Campeche Bank, Mexico. Biodivers Data Journal. 2:e1100. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.2.e1100 [ Links ]

Received: September 04, 2021; Accepted: November 12, 2021

*Corresponding author. E-mail: m.rivera-higueras@utexas.edu

Creative Commons License This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License