Corresponding author: Ricardo González-Muñoz (
Academic editor: L. van Ofwegen
Seven sea anemone species from coral reefs in the southern Gulf of Mexico are taxonomically diagnosed and images from living specimens including external and internal features, and cnidae are provided. Furthermore, the known distribution ranges from another 10 species are extended. No species records of sea anemones have been previously published in the primary scientific literature for coral reefs in the southern Gulf of Mexico and thus, this study represents the first inventory for the local actiniarian fauna.
Sea anemones (order
Map of the Southern Gulf of Mexico, indicating the localities sampled in this study.
Distribution of sea anemones found on the coral reefs of SGM in the present study. The symbol “x” indicates localities of previous but not published records, “*” indicates new records for the locality found in the present study, and “†” indicates new records for Mexico.
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Observations and collections of specimens were done at 20 coral reef localities of the SGM during 2009–2011 (
Specimens were deposited in the Collection of the Gulf of Mexico and Mexican Caribbean Sea (Registration code: YUC–CC–254–11) of the Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Docencia e Investigación en Sisal Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México American Museum of Natural History
Alacranes reef (
Fully expanded oral disc and tentacles 9–50 mm in diameter. Oral disc smooth, 4–22 mm in diameter, wider than column, dark-orange, brownish, greenish or dark-red, with white or yellowish endocoelic radial stripes tapering from tentacle bases (
Size and distribution of preserved cnidae from specimens examined. “ml” and “mw” are the means (length and width respectively), “dl” and “dw” are the standard deviations (length and width respectively), all in µm. “#1” and “#2” is the number of capsules measured per each specimen examined, “p” is the proportion of animals examined with respective to the type of cnida present.
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Tentacle | Basitrich | 8.7–20.2 | 16.1 | 2.2 | 1.6–3.3 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 24 | 21 | 2/2 |
Basitrich | 21.0–36.8 | 30.8 | 3.6 | 2.4–3.6 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 23 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Spirocyst | 15.1–40.0 | 25.3 | 7.0 | 2.2–3.5 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 21 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Actinopharynx | Basitrich | 13.9–33.5 | 24.9 | 3.9 | 2.1–4.0 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 20 | 26 | 2/2 | |
Microbasic |
16.8–24.9 | 19.7 | 2.2 | 3.3–5.6 | 4.5 | 0.6 | 6 | 9 | 2/2 | ||
Column | Basitrich | 13.3–22.6 | 18.3 | 2.4 | 2.1–3.0 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 21 | 20 | 2/2 | |
Acrorhagi | Basitrich | 14.6–26.4 | 20.1 | 3.0 | 2.1–3.2 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 20 | 22 | 2/2 | |
Basitrich | 27.8–43.7 | 35.8 | 3.6 | 2.5–3.5 | 3.1 | 0.1 | 21 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Holotrich | 31.1–42.4 | 36.8 | 2.6 | 4.4–6.9 | 5.1 | 0.4 | 22 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Filament | Basitrich | 12.9–32.7 | 19.2 | 5.2 | 1.8–3.0 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 20 | 27 | 2/2 | |
Microbasic |
24.6–33.9 | 28.6 | 2.5 | 3.7–6.0 | 4.7 | 0.6 | 22 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Microbasic |
15.0–24.5 | 20.4 | 2.3 | 3.7–5.9 | 4.8 | 0.5 | 21 | 22 | 2/2 | ||
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Tentacle | Basitrich | 12.6–20.6 | 16.8 | 2.0 | 1.7–2.6 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 23 | 21 | 2/2 |
Spirocyst | 11.8–19.2 | 16.0 | 1.4 | 2.3–3.6 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 28 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Actinopharynx | Basitrich | 15.0–27.0 | 21.6 | 3.1 | 1.8–3.1 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 23 | 24 | 2/2 | |
Basitrich | 10.1–18.0 | 14.0 | 1.7 | 1.5–2.4 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 15 | 22 | 2/2 | ||
Spirocyst | 11.2–19.5 | 16.2 | 1.9 | 2.3–3.7 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 12 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Microbasic |
20.9–28.3 | 24.6 | 2.7 | 2.8–4.4 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 5 | 1 | 2/2 | ||
Microbasic |
13.4–23.5 | 19.4 | 3.9 | 3.8–5.0 | 4.3 | 0.5 | 1 | 4 | 2/2 | ||
Column | Basitrich | 14.7–19.3 | 17.2 | 1.2 | 2.8–4.2 | 3.2 | 0.3 | 22 | 22 | 2/2 | |
Basitrich | 8.7–17.1 | 14.2 | 1.6 | 1.4–2.4 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 26 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Spirocyst | 10.3–14.7 | 12.6 | 1.5 | 2.3–2.6 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 5 | 1 | 2/2 | ||
Acrorhagi | Basitrich | 12.2–25.3 | 16.6 | 2.7 | 1.7–2.6 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 25 | 23 | 2/2 | |
Basitrich | 7.6–14.9 | 11.8 | 1.4 | 1.4–2.1 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 23 | 0 | 1/2 | ||
Spirocyst | 11.3–23.9 | 17.8 | 2.6 | 1.9–3.5 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 22 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Holotrich | 17.9–39.3 | 31.8 | 3.8 | 2.4–4.7 | 3.6 | 0.5 | 29 | 25 | 2/2 | ||
Holotrich | 21.1–36.5 | 27.9 | 4.2 | 2.3–3.3 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 24 | 0 | 1/2 | ||
Microbasic |
16.5–17.5 | 17.0 | 0.7 | 2.8–4.1 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 2 | 0 | 1/2 | ||
Filament | Basitrich | 13.1–33.7 | 17.3 | 3.9 | 1.9–3.0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 15 | 7 | 2/2 | |
Basitrich | 9.2–18.5 | 14.1 | 2.1 | 1.2–2.3 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 3 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Spirocyst | 10.9–19.2 | 15.5 | 2.1 | 1.9–3.5 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 20 | 4 | 2/2 | ||
Microbasic |
15.5–28.0 | 24.9 | 2.4 | 3.1–4.6 | 3.7 | 0.3 | 7 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Holotrich | 29.7–33.5 | 31.6 | 2.6 | 2.8–3.0 | 2.9 | 0.1 | 2 | 0 | 1/2 | ||
Microbasic |
17.2–23.4 | 20.5 | 2.2 | 4.2–4.8 | 4.5 | 0.2 | 1 | 4 | 2/2 | ||
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Tentacle | Basitrich | 10.7–29.5 | 21.0 | 4.7 | 1.6–3.4 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 21 | 22 | 2/2 |
Spirocyst | 13.2–22.6 | 16.8 | 2.3 | 1.7–3.7 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 20 | 23 | 2/2 | ||
Actinopharynx | Basitrich | 21.0–27.2 | 24.7 | 1.2 | 2.8–3.5 | 3.2 | 0.1 | 22 | 20 | 2/2 | |
Microbasic |
16.3–21.1 | 18.5 | 1.5 | 3.7–6.0 | 4.9 | 0.5 | 4 | 22 | 2/2 | ||
Column | Basitrich | 14.7–19.8 | 16.8 | 1.2 | 1.8–2.5 | 2.2 | 0.1 | 20 | 20 | 2/2 | |
Basitrich | 20.8–28.4 | 24.8 | 1.6 | 2.5–3.9 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 31 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Acrorhagi | Basitrich | 17.2–28.8 | 22.8 | 3.5 | 2.1–3.5 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 21 | 20 | 2/2 | |
Holotrich | 26.6–45.1 | 35.0 | 3.7 | 3.1–5.8 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 22 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Filament | Basitrich | 11.9–28.5 | 23.9 | 4.7 | 1.6–4.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 6 | 21 | 2/2 | |
Microbasic |
20.5–37.4 | 28.0 | 4.3 | 4.2–8.9 | 6.2 | 1.7 | 30 | 22 | 2/2 | ||
Microbasic |
14.4–23.1 | 18.7 | 2.9 | 3.2–6.7 | 4.6 | 0.9 | 20 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
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Tentacle | Basitrich | 14.1–23.6 | 18.5 | 2.8 | 1.9–2.8 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 21 | 21 | 2/2 |
Macrobasic |
16.0–25.6 | 22.0 | 1.6 | 5.1–9.2 | 7.3 | 0.9 | 23 | 22 | 2/2 | ||
Spirocyst | 12.2–22.2 | 17.4 | 2.6 | 1.9–3.0 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 21 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Actinopharynx | Basitrich | 11.7–18.5 | 13.7 | 1.7 | 1.6–2.7 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 21 | 21 | 2/2 | |
Basitrich | 16.6–34.1 | 26.4 | 2.9 | 2.3–3.2 | 2.9 | 0.2 | 29 | 22 | 2/2 | ||
Macrobasic |
21.1–26.9 | 24.4 | 1.4 | 6.3–8.3 | 7.6 | 0.5 | 4 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Microbasic |
18.0–28.6 | 25.2 | 2.7 | 4.1–5.7 | 4.9 | 0.4 | 10 | 5 | 2/2 | ||
Microbasic |
15.2–33.2 | 26.9 | 5.7 | 2.8–4.0 | 3.4 | 0.3 | 1 | 6 | 2/2 | ||
Long, curved basitrich | 18.9–32.8 | 24.9 | 4.8 | 1.6–2.2 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 6 | 6 | 2/2 | ||
Column | Basitrich | 11.8–15.7 | 13.5 | 0.9 | 1.9–2.8 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 23 | 21 | 2/2 | |
Macrobasic |
22.2–27.7 | 24.5 | 1.2 | 5.2–7.5 | 6.3 | 0.5 | 26 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Long, curved basitrich | 25.1–31.3 | 28.2 | 4.3 | 2.2–2.3 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 2 | 0 | 1/2 | ||
Marginal projection | Basitrich | 11.1–13.8 | 12.3 | 0.7 | 1.8–2.8 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 26 | 20 | 2/2 | |
Macrobasic |
20.1–25.9 | 22.7 | 1.4 | 5.2–8.5 | 6.5 | 0.8 | 32 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Filament | Basitrich | 10.8–15.5 | 13.4 | 1.1 | 1.6–2.2 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 24 | 20 | 2/2 | |
Basitrich | 17.6–31.8 | 22.2 | 3.4 | 1.7–3.1 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 20 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Macrobasic |
23.3–29.3 | 26.0 | 1.4 | 5.9–8.1 | 7.1 | 0.4 | 20 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Microbasic |
17.6–32.3 | 25.9 | 3.3 | 3.9–6.0 | 4.7 | 0.4 | 15 | 23 | 2/2 | ||
Microbasic |
29.3–39.7 | 34.1 | 2.4 | 3.2–4.9 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 20 | 22 | 2/2 | ||
Long, curved basitrich | 17.0–29.7 | 24.1 | 5.5 | 1.5–2.2 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 4 | 0 | 1/2 | ||
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Tentacle | Basitrich | 12.3–33.5 | 26.2 | 4.8 | 1.7–2.6 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 20 | 24 | 2/2 |
Spirocyst | 17.1–29.9 | 23.8 | 3.5 | 2.8–5.5 | 4.1 | 0.6 | 2 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Microbasic |
11.8–14.6 | 13.2 | 1.1 | 2.5–3.1 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 4 | 0 | 1/2 | ||
Microbasic |
29.0–68.7 | 48.6 | 9.0 | 4.4–7.1 | 5.6 | 0.6 | 20 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Pseudotentacle | Basitrich | 8.9–26.8 | 15.4 | 4.3 | 1.7–2.8 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 22 | 23 | 2/2 | |
Microbasic |
37.2–67.8 | 51.5 | 5.7 | 10.8–15.7 | 13.0 | 1.8 | 25 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Microbasic |
11.7–25.9 | 17.2 | 2.8 | 2.3–4.6 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 20 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Actinopharynx | Microbasic |
10.7–21.6 | 13.7 | 2.0 | 2.3–3.7 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 20 | 23 | 2/2 | |
Microbasic |
18.8–45.1 | 34.6 | 7.9 | 3.4–6.3 | 5.1 | 0.6 | 21 | 20 | 2/2 | ||
Column | Basitrich | 9.0–14.0 | 10.9 | 1.0 | 1.6–2.6 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 24 | 20 | 2/2 | |
Microbasic |
12.1–23.5 | 14.8 | 1.8 | 2.7–4.0 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 23 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Filament | Microbasic |
11.2–17.3 | 13.6 | 1.2 | 2.2–3.3 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 20 | 20 | 2/2 | |
Microbasic |
29.1–46.5 | 37.1 | 4.0 | 4.4–6.2 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 20 | 10 | 2/2 | ||
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Tentacle | Basitrich | 15.8–20.8 | 17.4 | 2.2 | 2.4–3.0 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 4 | 0 | 1/1 |
Spirocyst | 26.6–37.6 | 32.8 | 3.2 | 2.2–2.9 | 2.6 | 0.1 | 23 | 0 | 1/1 | ||
Actinopharynx | Basitrich | 25.6–32.5 | 27.9 | 1.7 | 3.5–4.8 | 4.2 | 0.3 | 21 | 0 | 1/1 | |
Microbasic |
29.8–34.9 | 31.9 | 1.4 | 6.6–9.0 | 7.8 | 0.5 | 22 | 0 | 1/1 | ||
Column | Basitrich | 10.1–24.9 | 17.8 | 3.7 | 1.5–2.6 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 22 | 0 | 1/1 | |
Filament | Basitrich | 16.1–24.5 | 21.3 | 2.2 | 2.1–3.1 | 2.6 | 0.2 | 20 | 0 | 1/1 | |
Microbasic |
25.7–30.2 | 27.8 | 1.1 | 5.3–6.9 | 6.0 | 0.4 | 20 | 0 | 1/1 | ||
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Tentacle | Basitrich | 12.9–16.3 | 15.0 | 0.8 | 1.4–2.5 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 21 | 6 | 2/2 |
Spirocyst | 16.9–29.1 | 22.9 | 3.1 | 3.0–4.9 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 0 | 21 | 1/2 | ||
Actinopharynx | Basitrich | 13.3–25.5 | 19.3 | 4.4 | 1.4–3.3 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 24 | 21 | 2/2 | |
Microbasic |
13.4–18.2 | 16.0 | 1.0 | 2.3–3.1 | 2.6 | 0.2 | 20 | 0 | 1/2 | ||
Column | Basitrich | 8.0–16.5 | 11.4 | 2.4 | 1.3–2.4 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 20 | 20 | 2/2 | |
Filament | Basitrich | 13.7–26.2 | 19.5 | 4.1 | 1.9–3.0 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 20 | 21 | 2/2 | |
Basitrich | 9.2–12.7 | 10.7 | 0.8 | 1.4–1.8 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0 | 22 | 1/2 | ||
Microbasic |
14.2–24.1 | 17.6 | 2.8 | 2.3–4.6 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 22 | 21 | 2/2 | ||
Acontia | Basitrich | 13.6–25.3 | 19.5 | 3.9 | 2.0–3.4 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 20 | 21 | 2/2 |
Western Atlantic, from the northern coast of USA and Caribbean Sea, to the northern coast of Brazil (
Of the 20 valid species of
Alacranes reef (
Fully expanded oral disc and tentacles 10–19 mm in diameter. Oral disc narrow, smooth, 3–8 mm in diameter, pale green or gray (
Western Atlantic, from Bermuda (
Currently there are three valid species of
La Gallega reef (
Fully expanded oral disc and tentacles to 20–38 mm in diameter. Oral disc 10–22 mm in diameter, smooth, brown-yellowish, brown-reddish or pale olive-green, sometimes with white or yellowish radial stripes in endocoelic spaces of first two or three tentacular cycles (
Western Atlantic, from North Caroline to Barbados; along the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico (
Currently four valid species of
La Gallega reef (
Fully expanded oral disc and tentacles to 24–38 mm in diameter. Oral disc smooth, slightly wider than column, 9–11 mm in diameter, light- or olive-green, sometimes with small white stripes near tentacles bases (
Western Atlantic, from Bermuda to Barbados, and along the Caribbean Sea (
Currently
Isla Verde reef (
Fully expanded oral disc and tentacles to 18–22 mm in diameter. Oral disc smooth, 3–5 mm in diameter, beige and translucent (
Western Atlantic, from Bahamas to Brazil, and along the Caribbean Sea (
Currently there are two valid species of
La Gallega reef (
Fully expanded oral disc and tentacles up to 52 mm in diameter. Central part of oral disc smooth, narrow, to 16 mm diameter, beige; mouth oval with a well-developed conchula (
Western Atlantic, from the northern coast of Brazil to Guadeloupe, Jamaica, and Curaçao (
Currently there are two valid species of
Alacranes reef (
Fully expanded oral disc and tentacles 9–48 mm in diameter. Oral disc smooth, wider than column, 3–20 mm in diameter, pale-brown translucent, with small white stripes in endocoelic spaces, sometimes forming a white ring; some specimens also with pink flashes (
Western Atlantic, from the northern coast of USA to the northern coast of Brazil, along the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico (
Of the 18 valid species currently considered as valid of
This work was partially supported by a grant from the Comisión Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) to R.G. for studies in the Postgraduate Program of Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (PCMyL, UNAM), and by CONACyT–SEMARNAT–108285 and DGAPA–PAPIME–PE207210 (UNAM) projects to N.S. All specimens were collected under consent of Mexican law, collecting permit approved by Comisión Nacional de Acuacultura y Pesca (Number 07332.250810.4060). We thank the Secretaría de Marina Armada de México (SEMAR), the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP) and the staff at the Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes for their helpful assistance during field work. Dr. Horacio Pérez-España (Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Pesquerías de la Universidad Veracruzana) provided support for field work; Dr. Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo and M.S. Raúl Simá (Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados Unidad Mérida, Instituto Politécnico Nacional), and M.S. Maribel Badillo-Alemán (UMDI-Sisal) provided access and support to histological facilities; M.S. Gemma Martínez-Moreno, Dr. Patricia Guadarrama-Chávez (UMDI-Sisal), B.S. José Antonio Martínez-Pérez, and B.S. Héctor Barrera-Escorcia (FESI-UNAM) helped with lab work and provided support in the microscopy lab; M.S. Alfredo Gallardo-Torres (UMDI-Sisal), B.S. Alejandro Córdova, B.S. Noé Salgado-Ortíz (FESI-UNAM), Professor Ariel Rolón, M.S. Geraldine García, M.S. Manuela Muhlia, M.S. Fernando Lazcano (PCMyL, UNAM) helped in the field, and Dr. Anastazia Banaszak helped with the English version of this paper. Comments of Dr. Lee van Ofwegen and one anonymous referee improved this manuscript.