Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata) from coral reefs in the Mexican Pacific

Autor: Rebeca Granja Fernández, María Dinorah Herrero Pérezrul, Ramón Andrés López Pérez, Luis Hernández, Fabián Rodríguez Zaragoza, Robert Wallace Jones, Rubén Pineda López
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: ZooKeys, Vol 406, Iss 0, Pp 101-145 (2014)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1313-2989
1313-2970
DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.406.6306
Popis: There are numerous and important coral reefs in the Mexican Pacific, but scarce studies of brittle stars conducted in these ecosystems. In this regard, this work provides the first annotated checklist of brittle stars associated with coral communities and reefs in the Mexican Pacific and an illustrated key to identify the species. We also provide taxonomic descriptions, spatial and bathymetric distributions and some important remarks of the species. We report a total of 14 species of brittle stars belonging to nine genera and seven families. Ophiocnida hispida in Jalisco, Ophiophragmus papillatus in Guerrero, and Ophiothrix (Ophiothrix) spiculata and Ophiactis simplex in Colima are new distribution records. The record of O. papillatus is remarkable because the species has not been reported since its description in 1940. The brittle stars collected in this study, represent 22.2% of the total species previously reported from the Mexican Pacific. Presently, anthropogenic activities on the coral reefs of the Mexican Pacific have increased, thus the biodiversity of brittle stars in these ecosystems may be threatened.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals