2026/01/27 by Edgar Gamero-Mora, Ivan A. Castellanos Osorio, Laura Celis +1 · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies #Marine Sponges and Natural Products
paper · pdf · doi:10.3897/bdj.14.e182574
openalex publication_date 2026/01/27 · openalex created_date 2026/01/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
This study presents an updated checklist of Scyphozoa from the Mexican Caribbean, incorporating records from published literature, citizen-science initiatives and collected specimens. This study documents evidence for the presence of 17 scyphozoan taxa, including nine new records for the region. Notably, the checklist includes records of the non-native scyphozoan species Cassiopea andromeda and Mastigias sp., reflecting the advantage of combining multiple sources of information. Most studies on scyphozoan ecology, distribution, abundance and diversity in the Mexican Caribbean have focused on shallow costal environments (< 30 m), leaving deep-sea and oceanic zones understudied. This uneven sampling effort, together with the difficulties in identifying certain species, hinders our complete understanding of jellyfish biodiversity in the region. Future studies integrating morphological and molecular approaches are essential to resolve taxonomic uncertainties and fully characterise scyphozoan biodiversity in this region.