Shallow water hippolytid shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) from the Mexican Caribbean coast

Camarones hipolítidos (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) de aguas someras de la costa del Caribe mexicano

Ramiro Román–Contreras* and Mario Martínez–Mayén

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Laboratorio de Carcinoparasitología, Apartado Postal 70–305, México, D. F. 04510, México *E–mail: rokon@cmarl.unam.mx

ABSTRACT

A checklist of shallow water shrimps of the family Hippolytidae of the central–southern coast of the Mexican Caribbean is presented. A total of 11 species belonging to 6 genera were collected on beds of Thalassia testudinum in Bahía de la Ascensión, Bahía del Espíritu Santo, and the Mahahual reef lagoon, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Genera Hippolyte and Thor were the most diverse with three species each. An updated geographic distribution along the western Atlantic and other regions is provided for all the species. Outside of the Caribbean province, greatest affinity of the hippolytid fauna is with the Virginian, Carolinian, Texan, and Brazilian provinces. New regional records are given and the occurrence of Hippolyte pleuracanthus is cited for the first time in the Mexican Caribbean.

Key words: Hippolytidae, Decapoda, Caridea, Mexican Caribbean.

RESUMEN

Se presenta un listado de los camarones de la familia Hippolytidae de las aguas someras de la costa centro–sur del Caribe Mexicano. Once especies pertenecientes a seis géneros fueron colectadas en praderas marinas de Thalassia testudinum en Bahía de la Ascensión, Bahía del Espíritu Santo y la laguna arrecifal de Mahahual, Quintana Roo, México. Los géneros Hippolyte y Thor fueron los más diversos con tres especies cada uno. Se proporcionan datos de distribución geográfica para todas las especies en la costa del Atlántico americano así como para otras regiones biogeográficas. Además de la provincia Caribeña, la fauna hipolítida recolectada presenta alta afinidad con las de otras provincias zoogeográficas como la Virginiana, la Caroliniana, la Texana y la Brasileña. Se proporcionan nuevos registros locales para las especies y se cita por primera vez la presencia de Hippolyte pleuracanthus en el Caribe mexicano.

Palabras clave: Hippolytidae, Decapoda, Caridea, Caribe mexicano.

INTRODUCTION

Crustaceans of the family Hippolytidae are diverse and abundant with more than 40 genera present in the world (Holthuis, 1993). These organisms are characterized by having the first two pairs of pereopods chelated, the first pair not much stronger than the other, the carpus of the second pair subdivided, eyes developed and not covered by the carapace, and the mandibles deeply clefted Crustaceans of the family Hippolytidae are diverse and abundant (Williams, 1984). Hippolytids are common dwellers of algae, sea grasses, gorgonians, sea anemones, holes, caves, muddy substrates, and other near shore areas, but also dwell within deeper zones of the continental shelf and slope (Wicksten, 1990, 2005b).

Knowledge of hippolytid shrimps in the Caribbean Sea has focused mainly on aspects of their taxonomy and distribution. The most complete work was performed by Chace (1972) who cited 26 species for the Caribbean. Markham et al. (1990) and Briones–Fourzán and Lozano–Álvarez (2002) published lists of the decapod crustaceans that inhabit the shallow waters of the Mexican Caribbean, including the hippolytids, and provided new records for the area. The deep water caridean shrimps have been studied by Escobar–Briones and Villalobos–Hiriart (2003), who registered 4 species and 3 new bathymetric records for this group.

Despite the aforementioned, few are the carcinological published works on the Mexican Caribbean area, for this reason, the need to generate more studies for this and other groups of crustaceans in this region is a current issue. The objective of the present contribution is to provide a checklist of the hippolytid shrimps collected in seagrass beds of Thalassia testudinum König, along the central–southern coast of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexican Caribbean. We describe the findings obtained during this study, including a new record in the area.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Sampling took place in different stations of Bahía de la Ascensión (19°30'–19°50' N, 87°25'–87°50' W), Bahía del Espíritu Santo (19°12'–19°25' N, 87°41' W), and the Mahahual reef lagoon (18°43'11" N, 87°42'19" W) along the central–southern coast of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The specimens were collected with a Colman–Seagrove sledge net with a 800–µm mesh size in meadows of T. testudinum at depths between 0.4 to 1.5 m. The collected crustaceans were fixed with 10% formaldehyde immediately after sampling and were later preserved in 70% ethanol. The substrate included sandy–mud and sandy–rock in both bays, and sand in the Mahahual reef lagoon. Detailed information on the study area was obtained from Suárez and Gasca (1994), Castellanos Osorio and Suárez–Morales (1997), and Suárez–Morales & Rivera Arriaga (1998).

The list of species here included follows the classification proposed by Martin and Davies (2001) and is ordered alphabetically. Restricted synonymies, type–locality, material examined, habitat, previous Mexican Caribbean records, and geographic range are cited for each species. In some cases, remarks about taxonomic aspects are given. The number of individuals and collection date for each locality are also reported. Synonymies are based on the original descriptions, classic monographs, and recent literature. The geographic distribution of the species in the American provinces follows Boschi (2000). All specimens are deposited in the collection of the authors' laboratory at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

A total of 71,973 hippolytid shrimps corresponding to eleven species and six genera were examined throughout the study. The genera Hippolyte and Thor were the most diverse with three species each (Table 1).

Hippolyte obliquimanus Dana, 1852

References: Hippolyte obliquimanus: d'Udekem d'Acoz, 1997: 470–475 (synonymy and description), figs. 1–2; Rodríguez–Almaraz et al., 2000: 863; Wicksten, 2005b: 112, fig. 12.

References: Hippolyte curacaoensis: Chace, 1972: 111, figs. 44–45; Williams, 1984: 117, fig. 81; Hernández–Aguilera et al., 1996: 39; Christoffersen, 1998: 355; García–Madrigal et al., 2002: 146; Wehrtmann & Vargas, 2003: 270.

References: Hippolyte obliquimana: Coelho & Ramos, 1972: 152.

Type–locality: Rio de Janeiro.

Previous Mexican Caribbean records: Listed as H. curacaoensis by García–Madrigal et al. (2002) for the area (locality unspecificed).

Distribution: Beaufort and Sneads Ferry, North Carolina (Williams, 1984) to Jim Island, Indian River, Florida (d'Udekem d'Acoz, 1997); from Veracruz state, Gulf of Mexico (Hernández Aguilera et al., 1996) to Santa Catarina, Brazil (Christoffersen, 1998). West Indies, from Cuba to Tobago and Curaçao (Chace, 1972).

Habitat: On sand and mud flats (Chace, 1972), frequently associated with marine seagrasses and algae in shallow waters (d'Udekem d'Acoz, 1997).

Hippolyte pleuracanthus (Stimpson, 1871)

References: Hippolyte pleuracanthus: Chace, 1972: 118, fig. 48; Gore et al., 1981: 490; Williams, 1984: 117, fig. 82; Martínez–Iglesias, 1986: 14, fig. 7; Román–Contreras, 1988: 314; Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996: 36; Eckrich & Holmquist, 2000: 204; Varela et al., 2003: 75; Wicksten, 2005b: 116.

Type–locality: Norfolk Harbor, Virginia, and Somers Point, Great Egg Harbor, New Jersey.

Previous records: First record for the study area.

Distribution: Connecticut (Chace, 1972) to Florida (Gore et al., 1981). Cuba (Martínez–Iglesias, 1986; Varela et al., 2003) and Puerto Rico (Eckrich & Holmquist, 2000).

Material examined: Bahía de la Ascensión, 9024 specimens, May 2002; 6686 specimens, January 2003; Bahía del Espíritu Santo, 30 specimens, May 2001; 2 specimens, November 2001; Mahahual reef lagoon, 94 specimens, July 1997. On sand and muddy substrate with T. testudinum, 0.40 to 0.80 m depth.

Habitat: Species reported abundant in beds of Zostera, Diplanthera (Williams, 1984) and bottoms covered with T. testu–dinum (Román–Contreras, 1988); down to 5.0 m depth (Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996).

Hippolyte zostericola (Smith, 1873)

Type–locality: Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts.

Previous Mexican Caribbean records: Bahía de la Ascensión (Chace, 1972; Markham & Donath–Hernández, 1990).

Distribution: Massachusetts (Chace, 1972) to Florida (Zupo & Nelson, 1999), along the Gulf of Mexico from Redfish Bay, Texas (Wicksten, 2005b) to Laguna de Términos, Campeche, Mexico (Román–Contreras, 1988; Román–Contreras & Romero–Rodríguez, 2005), and to Ceará, Brazil (Fausto–Filho, 1975). Bermuda (Markham & McDermott, 1980) to Trinidad and Curaçao (Chace, 1972). Also present in the eastern Pacific: San Antonio, Municipio de Robles, Tumaco, western Colombia (Wicksten, 1989; Lemaitre & Álvarez León, 1992).

Material examined: Bahía de la Ascensión, 6030 specimens, May, 2002; 3341 specimens, Jan 2003. Bahía del Espíritu Santo, 2277 specimens, May 2001; 154 specimens, Nov 2001. Mahahual reef lagoon, 1966 specimens, Jul 1997; 3 specimens, Nov 1998. All found on soft sediments, mud and shelly–sand substrates with T. testudinum, 0.50 to 1.5 m depth. First record in Bahía del Espíritu Santo and Mahahual reef lagoon.

Habitat: Abundant on beds of T. testudinum, Halodule wrightii Asch. and Syringodium filiforme Kützing (Román–Contreras, 1988; Zupo & Nelson, 1999); sublittoral (Chace, 1972).

Latreutes fucorum (Fabricius, 1798)

References: Latreutes fucorum: Chace, 1972: 121; Coelho & Ramos, 1972: 152; Carvacho, 1979: 465; Markham & McDermott, 1980: 1270; Williams, 1984: 119, fig. 84; Román–Contreras, 1988: 314; Markham et al., 1990: 422; Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996: 37; Christoffersen, 1998: 355; Rodríguez–Almaraz et al., 2000: 863; Wicksten, 2005b: 109, fig. 8; Cardoso, 2006: 16–21, figs. 11–14.

Type–locality: Floating gulfweed (locality unspecified).

Previous Mexican Caribbean records: Puerto Morelos, Isla Cozumel, and Bahía de la Ascensión (Chace, 1972; Markham et al., 1990). First record in Bahía del Espíritu Santo and Mahahual reef lagoon.

Material examined: Bahía de la Ascensión, 1097 specimens, May 2002; 750 specimens, Jan 2003. Bahía del Espíritu Santo, 39 specimens, May 2001; 125 specimens, Nov 2001. Mahahual reef lagoon, 7903 specimens, Jul 1997; 3984 specimens, Nov 1998. In mud sandy substrate with turtle grass, 0.4 to 1.5 m depth.

Habitat: Associated with floating Sargassum (Chace, 1972); on seagrass (Thalassia), on mangrove roots (Markham et al., 1990); between calcareous algae and beds of Halodule, in shallow water down to 50 m (Coelho & Ramos, 1972).

Latreutes parvulus (Stimpson, 1866)

References: Latreutes parvulus: Chace, 1972: 124; Coelho & Ramos, 1972: 153; Bowen et al., 1979: 252; Carvacho, 1979: 465; Christoffersen, 1982: 95; Williams, 1984: 120, fig. 85; Bauer, 1985: 152; Román–Contreras, 1988: 314; Markham et al., 1990: 422; Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996: 37; Christoffersen, 1998: 355; Rodríguez–Almaraz et al., 2000: 864; Wicksten, 2005b: 110, fig. 9.

Type–locality: St. Joseph Island, Texas.

Previous Mexican Caribbean records: Puerto Morelos (Markham et al., 1990) and Bahía del Espíritu Santo (Chace, 1972). New record in Bahía de la Ascensión and Mahahual reef lagoon.

Distribution: Between New Jersey and Virginia (Bowen et al., 1979); Gulf of Mexico (Román–Contreras, 1988; Rodríguez–Almaraz et al., 2000) to Buenos Aires, Argentina (Christoffersen, 1982, 1998); West Indies from Cuba (Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996) to Guadeloupe (Carvacho, 1979). In the eastern Atlantic, from Spanish Sahara to Congo coasts and Annobon Island (Christoffersen, 1982, 1998).

Material examined: Bahía de la Ascensión, 230 specimens, May 2002; 83 specimens, January 2003. Bahía del Espíritu Santo, 16 specimens, May 2001; 27 specimens, November 2001. Mahahual reef lagoon, 91 specimens, July 1997; 10 specimens, November 1998. On mud and sand mixed with calcareous material, 0.50 to 1.50 m depth.

Habitat: Estuarine and marine waters, on mud, sand, clay, and shell fragments (Christoffersen, 1982); calcareous algae (Coelho & Ramos, 1972); among sponges and dead coral (Williams, 1984); on Halodule, Zostera (Christoffersen, 1982) and T. testudinum grass flats (Bauer, 1985); shallow water down to 124 m (Christoffersen, 1982).

References: Lysmata wurdemanni: Chace, 1972: 129; Williams, 1984: 127, fig. 90; Markham et al., 1990: 422; Hernández Aguilera et al., 1996: 41; Wicksten, 2005b: 103, fig. 3, pl. 1, fig. A; Rhyne & Lin, 2006: 169, figs. 1–4, pls. 1A, 2.

Type–locality: Key West Lakes, Florida.

Material examined: Bahía del Espíritu Santo, 10 specimens, May 2001; 5 specimens, Nov 2001. Collected on sand substrate with turtle grass meadows, 0.70 to 1 m depth.

Previous Mexican Caribbean records: Puerto Morelos and Bahía de la Ascensión (Chace, 1972; Markham et al., 1990). First record in Bahía del Espíritu Santo.

Distribution: West coast of U.S.A. from Long Island, New York (Rhyne & Lin, 2006), to Brazos Santiago Pass, South Padre Island, Texas (Wicksten, 2005b); continental shelf of Campeche (20°50' 4''N, 91°28'12''W) southwestern Gulf of Mexico (Hernández Aguilera et al., 1996); Puerto Morelos to Bahía del Espíritu Santo, Quintana Roo, Mexico (Markham et al., 1990; present study).

Habitat: On rocky shores (Chace, 1972), stone jetties, and among sponges and hydroids, surface down to 37 m (Williams, 1984).

Remarks: This species was recently redescribed by Rhyne and Lin (2006), who restricted the southern geographical distribution of L. wurdemanni to Port Aransas, Texas. However, there are previous records from the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean (see Chace, 1972; Hernández Aguilera et al., 1996). The specimens examined by us in the present study agree with Rhyne and Lin's (2006) species diagnosis in having a similar rostral formula; 27–32 carpal segments in the second pereopod (one specimen has 34 segments); 3 or 4 spines on the flexor margin of third pereopod dactyli (one specimen with 5 spines); and the morphometrical ratio length and height of second antennular peduncle (1.25–1.66 in this material and 1.2–1.7 in Rhyne and Lin's specimens). The main variations observed were three blunt teeth in the right mandible of our specimens, a character not evident in figure 3B shown by Rhyne and Lin (2006) for L. wurdemanni; the morphometrical ratio between cephalothorax and dactylus length of the fifth pereopod in our material was 5.78 compared to 9.0 in that reported by Rhyne and Lin (2006). As most of the diagnostic species characters fit well with those of L. wurdemanni sensu Rhyne and Lin (2006), we conclude that the shrimps examined by us belong to this species.

Thor dobkini Chace, 1972

References: Thor dobkini Chace, 1972: 133–135, fig. 57; Williams, 1984: 134, fig. 94; Martínez–Iglesias, 1986: 18, fig. 9A; Román–Contreras, 1988: 314; Markham et al., 1990: 423; Hernández Aguilera et al., 1996: 41; Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996: 37; Wicksten, 2005b: 105, fig. 5; Coelho et al., 2006: 53.

Previous Mexican Caribbean records: Markham et al. (1990) reported T. dobkini from Vigía Chico, Bahía de la Ascensión; also reported by Chace (1972) in the same bay.

Distribution: From Shackleford Banks, Beaufort, North Carolina to Louisiana (Chace, 1972); Isla Sacrificios, Veracruz (Hernández Aguilera et al., 1996) and Laguna de Términos, Campeche (Román–Contreras, 1988), southwestern Gulf of Mexico; Bahía de la Ascensión, Quintana Roo, Mexico (Chace, 1972; Markham et al., 1990) to Alagoas, Brazil (Coelho et al., 2006). Golfo de Batabanó and Archipiélago Sabana–Camagüey, SW and NE of Cuba, respectively (Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996).

Material examined: Bahía de la Ascensión, 73 specimens, May 2002; 209 specimens, Jan 2003. Bahía del Espíritu Santo, 4127 specimens, May 2001; 50 specimens, Nov 2001. In T. testudi–num meadows with soft sediments, 0.60 to 1 m depth. First record in Bahía del Espíritu Santo.

Habitat: Mud and sand substrates with or without vegetation, rocky bottoms with sponges and corals (Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996), in Sargassum (Markham et al., 1990); shallow water down to 19 m (Williams, 1984).

Thor floridanus Kingsley, 1878

References: Thor floridanus : Rathbun, 1902: 116; Chace, 1972: 136, fig. 58; Williams, 1984: 135, fig. 95; Abele & Kim, 1986: 22, 244, 245, figs. h–j; Markham et al., 1990: 423; Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996: 37; Escobar–Briones & Villalobos–Hiriart, 2003: 112; Wehrtmann & Vargas, 2003: 272; Wicksten, 2005a 32; Wicksten, 2005b: 105, fig. 6.

Type–locality: Key West, Florida.

Previous Mexican Caribbean records: Cabo Catoche (Rathbun, 1902); Laguna Nichupté (Markham et al., 1990); Isla Mujeres, Isla Cozumel, and Bahía de la Ascensión (Chace, 1972); six miles south of Punta Herrero and west–central side of Banco Chinchorro (Escobar–Briones & Villalobos–Hiriart, 2003).

Distribution: Black Rocks off New River, North Carolina (Williams, 1984; Escobar–Briones & Villalobos–Hiriart, 2003) to Florida (Abele & Kim, 1986); West Flower Garden Bank, Texas (Wicksten, 2005a), to Puerto Viejo, Limón, Costa Rica (Wehrtmann & Vargas, 2003); Archipiélago Sabana–Camagüey, NE of Cuba (Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996).

Habitat: Sandy and muddy bottoms, with or without vegetation (Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996), seagrass flats of Thalassia (Markham et al., 1990); reported down to 300 m (Escobar–Briones & Villalobos–Hiriart, 2003).

Thor manningi Chace, 1972

References: Thor manningi Chace, 1972: 137, figs. 59–61; Markham & McDermott, 1980: 1270; Rodríguez, 1980: 170, fig. 49; Criales, 1984: 314; Williams, 1984: 137, fig. 96; Martínez–Iglesias, 1986: 19, fig. 9B; Christoffersen, 1998: 354; Wicksten, 2005b: 107, fig. 7.

Type–locality: English Harbour, Antigua Island.

Previous Mexican Caribbean records: Bahía de la Ascensión and Bahía del Espíritu Santo, Quintana Roo (Chace, 1972). First record for Mahahual reef lagoon.

Distribution: Beaufort, North Carolina to Bahía del Espíritu Santo, Quintana Roo, Mexico (Chace, 1972); Paraíba to Sao Paulo, Brazil (Christoffersen, 1998); Bermuda (Markham & McDermott, 1980); in the Antilles recorded in Tobago and Curaçao (Chace, 1972).

Material examined: Bahía de la Ascensión, 1413 specimens, May 2002; 365 specimens, Jan 2003. Bahía del Espíritu Santo, 482 specimens, May 2001; 34 specimens, Nov 2001. Mahahual reef lagoon, 1997 specimens, Jul 1997; 349 specimens, Nov 1998. In beds of Thalassia and sand mixed with broken shells, 0.5 to 1.5 m depth.

Habitat: Abundant on dead coral and grass flats, sometimes in association with anemones (Chace, 1972) and crinoids (Criales, 1984); sand and mud bottoms covered with T. testudinum (Martínez–Iglesias, 1986); shallow water down to 44 m (Chace, 1972).

Tozeuma carolinense Kingsley, 1878

Type–locality: Fort Macon, North Carolina.

Previous Mexican Caribbean records: Puerto Morelos and Isla Cozumel (Markham et al., 1990); Bahía de la Ascensión (Chace, 1972; Markham et al., 1990). First record for Bahía del Espíritu Santo and Mahahual reef lagoon.

Distribution: Vinyard Sound, Massachusetts (Williams, 1984) to Sao Paulo, Brazil (Christoffersen, 1998), included the Gulf of Mexico to Yucatán (Williams, 1984; Hernández Aguilera et al., 1996); Bermuda (Markham & McDermott, 1980); Cuba (Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996) to Saint Lucia Island and Curaçao (Chace, 1972).

Material examined: Bahía de la Ascensión, 307 specimens, May 2002; 1447 specimens, Jan 2003. Bahía del Espíritu Santo, 1724 specimens, May 2001; 496 specimens, Nov 2001. Mahahual reef lagoon, 566 specimens, Jul 1997; 142 specimens, Nov 1998. Associated to T. testudinum, at 1 m depth.

Habitat: On sandy–mud grass flats of T. testudinum (Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996) and Sargassum (Markham et al., 1990); calcareous algae (Coelho & Ramos, 1972); shallow water down to 75 m (Chace, 1972).

Trachycaris rugosa (Bate, 1888)

References: Platybema rugosus Bate, 1888: 579, pl. 104, fig. 2.

References: Trachycaris rugosa: Criales, 1992: 562–570, figs. 1–5; Cardoso, 2006: 26.

Type–locality: 18°38'30" N, 65°5'30" W; off Culebra Island, West Indies.

Distribution: South Carolina and Florida; Cabo Catoche, Quintana Roo, Mexico to Santa Marta, Colombia; from Cuba to Barbados, Antilles (Criales, 1992).

Material examined: Bahía de la Ascensión, 9 specimens, May 2002; 8 specimens Jan 2003. Bahía del Espíritu Santo, 2 specimens, May 2001; 1 specimen, Nov 2001. Mahahual reef lagoon, 174 specimens, Jul 1997; 5 specimens, Nov 1998. In meadows of T. testudinum and sandy bottom, 0.60 to 0.90 m depth. First record in these last localities.

Habitat: In rocks and coralline substrates (Criales, 1992); at ca. 713 m (Bate, 1888).

Remarks: The material examined herein agrees in general with Criales's (1992) description. The main differences observed in our specimens are the presence of one spine on the basal antennal peduncle instead of two, and the palp of the maxillula is distinctly bilobed.

DISCUSSION

The number of hippolytid species herein recorded is lower than that reported by Markham et al. (1990) (14 species) in the Caribbean coast of Quintana Roo. This is explained because those authors collected from diverse habitats with different sampling techniques, and the studied area was larger.

Hippolyte pleuracanthus is the only species of the family representing a new record, being the coast of the Mexican Caribbean its southernmost range limit of distribution in the western Atlantic. Chace (1972) pointed out that H. pleuracanthus and H. zostericola are very closely related species, and confusion exists concerning the status of these species. The species can be distinguished principally by rostrum length, larger than the antennular peduncle in females of H. zostericola with respect to H. pleuracanthus. For males, the length of the rostrum in H. zoste–ricola reaches almost the distal margin of the second peduncular segment, whereas in H. pleuracanthus it is shorter than, or equal to the first segment. In the specimens herein examined these characteristics were observed, corroborating the identification of this material as H. pleuracanthus.

The specimens cited as Trachycaris restrictus (Milne–Edwards, 1878) by Briones–Fourzán and Lozano–Álvarez (2002) and Escobar–Briones and Villalobos–Hiriart (2003) for the Mexican Caribbean probably belongs to T. rugosa, but this must be confirmed. Criales (1992) stated that T. rugosa is distributed in the western Atlantic and T. restricta in the eastern Atlantic; however, Cardoso (2006) collected specimens of the latter species from the Brazilian coast; specimens of Trachycaris collected in the Western Atlantic require, therefore, careful examination.

The hippolytid fauna collected belongs to the Caribbean province which extends from the mouth of the Orinoco River, Venezuela, to Cabo Rojo, Gulf of Mexico (21°36N'), including the Caribbean Islands and southern Florida, from Cape Romano (25°54'N) in the Gulf of Mexico to Cape Canaveral in the Atlantic Ocean (Boschi, 2000; Briggs, 1974). In this zone, water temperature ranges from 20 to 25 °C in winter and between 28 and 30 °C in summer (Boschi, 2000). Markham et al. (1990) stated that most crustacean fauna of Quintana Roo occurs throughout the Caribbean Sea. Of the 11 species recorded by us in Bahía de la Ascensión, Bahía del Espíritu Santo and Mahahual reef lagoon, 5 (45.5%) have also been reported from Costa Rica and Venezuela (Rodríguez, 1980; Wehrtmann & Vargas, 2003); whereas all species collected in the present study are distributed also in Cuba (see Martínez–Iglesias et al., 1996).

The extended geographic range of the species herein reported includes distinct regions. In this case, besides the Caribbean province, the hippolytid fauna collected also displays great affinity with the Virginian (54.54%), the Carolinian (90.90%), the Texan (54.54%), and the Brazilian (63.63%) provinces (Table 1).

The distribution of the organisms may depend on the influence of environmental factors (Boschi, 2000). In this respect, Briggs (1995) argued that widespread patterns of many species are associated principally with temperature, which controls their distribution in the ocean. Considering that the crustacean fauna of Quintana Roo is tropical (Markham et al., 1990) and that warm and warm–temperate conditions prevail in the cited provinces (Briggs, 1974), this could explain the presence of the hippolytid fauna in these regions.

Including H. pleuracanthus, in the Mexican Caribbean occur 18 species of shallow waters hippolytids (Markham et al., 1990; Briones–Fourzán & Lozano–Álvarez, 2002), whereas in the Mexican Pacific (Gulf of Califonia included) 19 species have been recorded (Wicksten, 1983; Wicksten & Hendrickx, 2003). In contrast, the region with the least number of species of hippolytids recorded is the eastern coast of Mexico with only 13 species known (Hernández Aguilera et al., 1996; Wicksten, 2005 b) (Table 2).

On the other hand, considering different ecosystems present along the coast of the Mexican Caribbean and that the distribution pattern of several species in the area is very extensive, the diversity of this family of crustaceans is probably underestimated (Vargas & Cortés, 1999). Therefore, carry out additional faunal inventories in the region is recommendable to provide basic information for future biological and ecological studies as well as the preservation of this faunal group.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks are due to A. Reda Deara (estación El Carmen, ICMyL) for his support in the field work; to J. Romero Rodríguez, M. A. Carballido Carranza, A. Sánchez Quiñones, and V. Vega González for helping to process the biological material; to Dirección General de Vida Silvestre of the SEMARNAP, and the staff of the Reserva de la Biosfera de Sian Ka'an, for sampling facilities; as well as to Mrs. I. B. Mascher for help us with the English of the final draft.

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