Evaluación ictiológica en el Corredor Costero de Yucatán (Sureste del Golfo de México)

Abstract

It is provided a systematic checklist of the ichthyofauna inhabiting the Yucatan coastal corridor, as part of the Mesoamerican Corridor which connects two of the most important reserves in Yucatan Peninsula Mexico: Celestun and Ria Lagartos. Fish specimens were collected bimonthly, from January 2002 to March 2004, in 24 localities along the coast (140 km). The systematic list includes 94 species belonging to 44 families and 19 orders. The best represented families by species number were Sciaenidae (10), Carangidae (9) and Engraulidae (5). Information about size range, number of specimen per species and zoogeographic affinities are included. The species with the highest occurrence (100%) were Harengula jaguana and Trachinotus falcatus . It is confirmed the presence of Rypticus maculatus (Serranidae) in the southern Gulf of Mexico and of three brackish species into the marine environment.