Marine fishes of Acapulco, Mexico (Eastern Pacific Ocean)

Abstract

A comprehensive systematic checklist of the marine ichthyofauna of Acapulco Bay and its adjacent coastal zone is presented. The information was obtained from field surveys using several methods, including: visual censuses, video-transects, subaquatic photography, and spearfishing captures; anesthesia of fish associated with reef ecosystems; gill-nets and beach seines; fish associated with oyster seed collectors; and fish caught by local fishermen. The checklist comprises 292 species from 192 genera, 82 families, 33 orders, and 2 classes. The families with the highest specific richness were the Carangidae, Haemulidae, and Sciaenidae, with 28, 20, and 19 species, respectively. At the genus level, there were records of seven Lutjanus species, six Caranx species, and five Haemulon, Cynoscion and Halichoeres species. A high percentage of the recorded species have a wide distribution, where 6.7 % are circumtropical, 31.2 % have a distribution that includes the Cortez and Panamic provinces, and 19.3 % of the species have a wide distribution that encompasses from the San Diegan to the Panamic province. Four species are endemic to the Mexican province (Pareques fuscovittatus, Malacoctenus polyporosus, Paraclinus stephensi and Stathmonotus lugubris), while Enneanectes reticulatus and Paraclinus monophthalmus are endemic to the Cortez and Panamic provinces, respectively, and represent new records for the Mexican central Pacific. The ichthyofauna recorded during this study is characteristic of the biogeographic transitional subtropical–tropical zone of the Eastern Pacific. Most specimens were tropical, and there was an important component of species belonging to over five different affinities, which could be a result of the different habitat preferences and dominant types of reproduction. Some explanations for the fish composition of this important touristic bay are discussed, as well as the need to establish a knowledge baseline of the natural resources of this ecosystem in order to outline adequate management and conservation strategies.