New records of the Townsend angelfish (Holacanthus bermudensis X H. ciliarishybrid) and range extension of the Blue angelfish (H. bermudensis) in the Caribbean Sea

Abstract

Abstract. Angelfishes, one of the most characteristic elements in shallow tropical reefs, are known for the very high incidence of hybridization among sister species. In the western Atlantic Ocean, the hybrid of the Blue and Queen angelfishes, Holacanthus bermudensis X H. ciliaris (called the Townsend angelfish, or “H. townsendi”) has been described as a resident of the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Bahamas and Bermuda, where the parental taxa coexist. In this paper we report the presence of a specimen of the Townsend angelfish at Puerto Morelos (Mexican Caribbean), and also refer to other observations in Honduras and Costa Rica. These findings prompted a review of the geographic distribution of the parental species, and it was discovered that the range of H. bermudensis (nominally restricted to the Gulf of Mexico and latitudes north of 24°N), is actually much larger that thought and extends to the central Caribbean Sea and South America; in fact, the Blue angelfish is sympatric with H. ciliaris in most of its...