Systematic checklist and zoogeographic affinities of ichthyofauna from Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano, Mexico

An updated checklist of the systematic composition of fishes from the Veracruz Coral Reef System (VRS)is presented. The list is the result of underwater visual censuses done from 2006 to 2011, and it was completed with previously reported species in literature and those deposited in reference collections. The list includes 387 species, 206 genera, 92 families and 23 orders. Three species are new records for the Mexican coast of the Gulf of Mexico: Amphelikturus dendriticus, Hypleurochilus bermudensis and Opistognathus macrognathus. The families with the higher specific richness were: Serranidae (37 spp.), Carangidae (23), Haemulidae and Labridae (17), Gobiidae (16) and Pomacentridae (15). The zoogeographic affinities of the species were better represented by the Caribbean province (78.87%), followed by the Carolinian province of the North coast, Northeast and Northwest of the Gulf of Mexico (77.68%) and Antillean (71.83%). Five species are endemic to the VRS: Elacatinus jarocho, Halichoeres burekae, Hypoplectrus atlahua, H. castroaguirrei and Tigrigobius redimiculus. The total expected number of species was calculated using Chao 1, Chao 2, Jacknife 1 and 2, and bootstrap methods. It was found that this species list represents almost 90% of the expected richness, the best systematic list until now.