Living Foraminifers of West Flower Garden Bank, Northernmost Coral Reef in Gulf of Mexico: ABSTRACT

Abstract

At West Flower Garden Bank, on the outer Texas-Louisiana continental shelf, 104 species of living benthic foraminifers representing 73 genera were found in sediments and on hard substrates collected from the submerged coral reef and biostrome. Three habitat associations can be recognized. (1) An association of abundant sediment-dwelling species is formed by Cassidulina sp., Loxostromum limbatum forma costulatum, Peneroplis proteus, Pseudomassilina (?) sp., Quinqueloculina sp. A, Q. sp. B, Rosalina sp. B, and Rotaliammina trumbulli. (2) An association of abundant hard-substrate-dwelling species is formed by Carpenteria utricularis, Carterina spiculotesta, Gypsina plana, Homotrema rubra, Planogypsina squamiformis, Planorbulina acervalis, Planorbulina mediterranensis, Planor ulinoides retinaculata, Rotaliammina squamiformis, and Sporadotrema cylindrica. (3) An association dwelling in abundance both in the sediments and on hard substrates is formed by Amphistegina gibbosa, Eponides repandus, Miliolinella circularis, Neoconorbina orbicularis, Spirillina vivipara, and Tretomphalus atlanticus. Only 17 (16%) of the West Flower Garden Bank species are endemic to the Gulf of Mexico; 83 (80%) occur elsewhere in the Caribbean; and 53 (51%) also occur in the tropical Indo-Pacific. Thirty-two species (31%) are reported for the first time from the Gulf of Mexico, and 12 species (12%) are newly reported from the northwestern End_Page 1609------------------------------ Gulf; 18 species (17%) appear to be undescribed in previous literature. Many of the newly reported species are abundant at West Flower Garden Bank and several other species, known only sparsely from other Gulf and Caribbean reefs, are important constituents of the West Flower Garden Bank foraminiferal community. These results emphasize the value of direct sampling techniques that recover hard reef substrates. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1610------------