Occurrence of Panulirus meripurpuratus and Panulirus laevicauda (Decapoda: Achelata: Palinuridae) in Bahia de la Ascension, Mexico

The Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804), previously considered to range from North Carolina, USA, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and throughout the wider Caribbean region, was recently divided into two species based on morphology and coloration: Panulirus meripurpuratus Giraldes & Smyth, 2016 in Brazil, and P. argus north of the Amazon-Orinoco River plume. Here we report on the presence of two individuals of P. meripurpuratus and four of Panulirus laevicauda (Latreille, 1804), another species typical of Brazil, in Bahia de la Ascension, Mexico. This bay is located in the area where the Caribbean current - the main route by which South Atlantic water can reach this coast after entering the Caribbean basin through the Lesser Antillean passages - impinges the Mexican Caribbean coast before turning north to give rise to the Yucatan Current. The potential for larval retention is increased in this area, potentially explaining the episodic occurrence of Brazilian spiny lobster species in Bahia de la Ascension.