scholarly journals First record of the invasive coral Oculina patagonica de Angelis, 1908 (Cnidaria, Scleractinia) in the Gulf of Mexico

Check List ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 613-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norberto A. Colín García ◽  
Jorge E. Campos ◽  
José L. Tello Musi ◽  
Horacio Perez-España ◽  
Xavier Chiappa Carrara

Colonies of coral with morphology similar to that of Oculina patagonica de Angelis, 1908 were found in the National Park Veracruz Reef System (NPVRS) along the coast of Veracruz, Mexico in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The identity of these colonies as O. patagonica was confirmed by morphological and molecular analyses. Here, we document the first records of O. patagonica in the Gulf of Mexico. This species is native to the Mediterranean Sea, and could have been accidentally introduced to the Gulf of Mexico through ballast water from ships. In the NPVRS, poor environmental conditions such as polluted waters with high sedimentation, and the capability of O. patagonica to adapt could have facilitated the establishment of this species in the Gulf.

Check List ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-615
Author(s):  
Norberto A. Colín García ◽  
Jorge E. Campos ◽  
José L. Tello Musi ◽  
Horacio Perez-España ◽  
Xavier Chiappa Carrara

Colonies of coral with morphology similar to that of Oculina patagonica de Angelis, 1908 were found in the National Park Veracruz Reef System (NPVRS) along the coast of Veracruz, Mexico in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The identity of these colonies as O. patagonica was confirmed by morphological and molecular analyses. Here, we document the first records of O. patagonica in the Gulf of Mexico. This species is native to the Mediterranean Sea, and could have been accidentally introduced to the Gulf of Mexico through ballast water from ships. In the NPVRS, poor environmental conditions such as polluted waters with high sedimentation, and the capability of O. patagonica to adapt could have facilitated the establishment of this species in the Gulf.


Author(s):  
Mariana L Santana-Cisneros ◽  
Rossanna Rodríguez-Canul ◽  
Jesús Alejandro Zamora-Briseño ◽  
Monica Améndola-Pimenta ◽  
Roxana De Silva-Dávila ◽  
...  

Paralarvae (PL) are crucial to understanding the life cycle and population dynamics of cephalopods. Misidentification of species with similar morphology is a problem that hampers understanding of cephalopod composition and distribution. In this study, we used morphological and molecular approaches to carry out a comprehensive identification of Octopoda PL that inhabit two main areas (Tamaulipas and Yucatán) in the southern Gulf of Mexico (GoM). A total of 189 paralarvae were identified using morphological criteria. Of these, 52 PL were analyzed molecularly by sequencing the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. We identified four species and five morphotypes. The molecular tools corroborated three of four species, while the molecular sequences of three out of four morphotypes indicated that they belong to three different species. All the genetic sequences had high similarities (99.3%–100%) with previous records. One species and one morphotype could not be sequenced because of unsatisfactory fixation; one morphotype remained as such after the molecular analysis. An identification tree was constructed for the species identified with the molecular approach. The species found off the Yucatán platform were Octopus vulgaris Type I, Octopus americanus, Macrotritopus defilippi, Amphioctopus burryi, A. cf. burryi, Octopus sp., and Callistoctopus furvus. The species identified off the Tamaulipas coast were Octopus insularis and M. defilippi. Paralarvae of O. vulgaris Type I and M. defilippi were the most abundant during 2016–2017. This study provides the first record of Octopoda PL in the southern GoM, including morphological descriptions and molecular sequences of the analyzed taxa.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-49
Author(s):  
Firas A. Al-Shawy ◽  
Murhaf M. Lahlah ◽  
Chirine S. Hussein

Five individuals of Smith's cardinalfish Jaydia smithi were collected from Ibn-Hani area, Lattakia, Syria on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Their morphometric and meristic characteristics are reported. There are several factors which assisted this specimen to reach this area of the Mediterranean; some of these factors might be the marine environment changes and the ballast water. This study reports that Smith's cardinalfish Jaydia smithi, a member of Lessepsian species was found in Syrian marine waters for the first time.


2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (8) ◽  
pp. 2095-2097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Aguilar-Perera ◽  
Luis Quijano-Puerto ◽  
Evelyn Carrillo-Flota ◽  
Ernest H. Williams ◽  
Lucy Bunkley-Williams

Two female snapper-choking isopods Cymothoa excisa (body length 11 and 14 mm) were in the buccal cavity of two invasive lionfish Pterois volitans (total length 294 and 301 mm) collected in Alacranes Reef, southern Gulf of Mexico. This is the first record of C. excisa parasitizing invasive lionfish P. volitans in coral reefs of the Western Atlantic, where these isopods appear to have infected the host through adult prey-predator transfer.


Author(s):  
RAZY HOFFMAN ◽  
HIROSHI KAJIHARA

The ribbon worm Evelineus mcintoshii is reported for the first time from the Mediterranean Sea. Observations that took place, during two algal surveys, on the intertidal abrasion platforms at the middle of the Levantine Sea of Israel indicated that this species is hiding inside a mixture of local and non-indigenous marine seaweeds. It is probably another alien species, one of many, that adopted the Levantine basin of the Eastern Mediterranean due to tropical environmental conditions that characterize this sea. We discuss the first record of this species and its possible origins as well as the first report of Notospermus geniculatus, the other marine nemertean species recently reported from Israel.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Cruz-Castán ◽  
Sámar Saber ◽  
David Macías ◽  
María José Gómez Vives ◽  
Gabriela Galindo-Cortes ◽  
...  

The number of studies of reproductive biology for Atlantic bluefin tuna carried out in the Gulf of Mexico is significantly lower than those undertaken in the Mediterranean Sea. Four spawning areas have been found for the eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna stock in the Mediterranean Sea, so it is not implausible that there is more than one spawning area in the Gulf of Mexico for the western Atlantic bluefin tuna stock. The individuals used in this study were caught as bycatch by the Mexican surface longline fleet between January and April 2015. A total of 63 individuals ranging between 192 and 293 cm LF (mean = 238 ± 22.52 cm) were measured. Gonads from 46 fish (31 females and 15 males) were collected for histological examination. All the individuals were classified as mature; 25 were reproductively active (in spawning capable and spawning stages). The histological analysis indicates spawning activity in Mexican waters (the southern Gulf of Mexico). Spawning occurred in March and April, when the sea surface temperature was 25.57 °C ± 0.69 in March and 27.03 °C ± 0.69 in April. Information on the location of the spawning areas is necessary for a correct management of species. The present study provides the first histological evidence of reproductive activity in Mexican waters, and indicates a wider spawning area, beyond just the northern zone, potentially encompassing the entire Gulf of Mexico.


Author(s):  
Jesús Montoya-Mendoza ◽  
Guillermo Salgado-Maldonado ◽  
Yuri Okolodkov

Abstract Engraulicola lamothei n. sp. (Monogenea: Gastrocotylidae) is described from the gills of Chloroscombrus chrysurus (Teleostei: Carangidae) from Veracruz, southern Gulf of Mexico. This monogenean is 1110-1670 (1328) µm long and 260-550 (363) µm wide. The haptor is asymmetrical, the long side has several clamps (35-42), and the short side has a single clamp; the posterior end has a small lappet armed with two dissimilar pairs of hooks. Male and female genital pores open near the anterior body end; the male genital pore is ventral, armed with a corona of 12 spines; the female pore is dorsal and unarmed. The new species differs from Engraulicola forcipopenis George, 1960 and from Engraulicola micropharyngella Unnithan, 1967 by lacking a pair of pointed forceps-like spines at the end of the penis amid the corona spines, and from Engraulicola thrissocles Tripathi, 1959 by the number of clamps on both sides, the number the hook pairs on the terminal lappet and the testis number. This is the first record of the genus Engaulicola George, 1960 on the Atlantic West Coast.


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