Biogeography of the stony corals (Scleractinia) of the Mexican Pacific

Abstract

This paper presents a complete list of hermatypic coral species, analyzes the biodiversity levels and describes the biogeographic patterns of the group in the Mexican Pacific. The coral fauna of the Mexican Pacific consists of 23 species, which makes this region one of the highest in terms of specific richness within the tropical eastern Pacific. In general, the species are grouped in faunistic units that correspond to the traditional zoogeographic provinces recognized in the region. There is no evidence of effective biogeographic barriers throughout the Mexican Pacific region. Local extinction events, likely caused by the narrow distribution of some species, and perhaps due to the type and frequency of transpacific colonizations, modify the normal processes of community succession, causing the Mexican Pacific to be a highly dynamic zone in terms of its coral fauna.