Stomatopods (Crustacea:Hoplocarida) Collected off the coast of Sinaloa, México, during the BIOCAPESS cruises IV, V and VI (Agoust 1991, Mach and June 1992)

Abstract

STOMATOPODS WERE COLLECTED OFF THE COAST OF SINALOA, MEXICO, DURINGNG A THREE-LEG TRAWLING SUVERY (BIOCAPESS PROYECT) OF MACROINVERTEBRATES AND FISHES ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONTINENTAL PLATFORM. SAMPLES WERE OBTAINED FROM 22 TO 150 M DEPTH. NUMBERS OF SPECIMENS CAPTURE DURING THE SURVEY WERE 174 (BIOCAPESS IV, AUGUST 1991), 264 (BIOCAPESS V, MARCH 1992), AND 214 (BIOCAPESS VI, JUNE 1992), WITH A GRAND TOTAL OF 652 SPECIMENS. SIX SPECIES OF SQUILLA WERE RECOGNIZED AMONG THE MATERIAL. THE MOST ABUNDANT AND COMMONLY FOUND WERE S. MANTOIDEA AND S. PARVA. SQUILLA ACULEATA ACUELEATA WAS CAPTURE ONLY ONCE AND THE THREE OTHER SPECIES (S. BIFORMIS, S. PANAMENSIS AND S. HANCOCKNI) OCCURRED IN LESS THAN ONE FIFTH OF THE SAMPLES. STOMATOPODS WERE FOUND IN 40 AUT OF THE 57 SAMPLES OBTAINED DURING THE SURVEY; 14 OF THE 16 SAMPLES WITH NO STOMATOPODS WERE OBTINED FROM SAMPLING DEPTHS BETWEEN 80 AND 135 M. DEPTH DISTRIBUTION RANGE IS INCREASED FOR FOUR SPECIES (S. BIFORMIS, S. HANCOCKI, S. PANAMENSIS AND S. PARVA). ANALYSIS OF CO-OCCURRENCE OF SPECIES SHOW A PATTERN BASICALLY SIMILAR TO THE ONE OBSERVED PREVIOUSLY FOR THE AREA, WITH HIGHEST FREQUENCY OF ASSOCIATION FOUND BETWEEN S. MANTOIDEA AND EITHER S. PARVA, S. HANCOCKIS OR S. PANAMENSIS SQUILLA MANTOIDEA APPEARED AS RHE DOMINANT SPECIES FOR THE SURVEY AREA, THUS REINFORCING THE IDEA THAT IT NOW REPRESENTS ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPONENT OF THE MACROINVERTEBRATES BANTHIC COMMUNITY ON THE SINALOA CONTINENTAL SHELF.