Abstract
The decapod and stomatopod Crustacea of two Gulf of Mexico reef systems, Isla de Lobos, Veracruz, Mexico (21°27'15"N-97°13'45"W), an emergent reef, and West Flower Garden reef, Texas (27°52.6'N-93°49'W), a submerged reef bank, were studied. The specimens were collected form 8 October 1971 through 11 October 1972. Eighty-nine species were identified, of which 59 species represent new records west of the 90° meridian. Twenty species were common to both reefs. Thirty-five species appeared on Isla de Lobos only, and 32 species were present only on the West Flower Garden reef. Twenty species were identified that not been reported from the Smithsonian-Bredin study of the Yucatan Peninsula. The biotic zones sampled were basically the same, composed primarily of the corals Diploria strigose, Montastrea annularis, Porites astreoides, and Montastrea cavernosa. This community existed between 7 and 24 meters on the Lobos reef and 18 to 43 meters at the West Flower Garden reef. Based on the present knowledge of current patterns in the Gulf of Mexico and the fact that only 22% of the species collected were common to both reefs, it is hypothesized that the West Flower Garden reef is being recruited from the Yucatan Straights and the Veracruz-Lobos reef complexes. Small decapod and stomatopod crustaceans were prepared and photographed utilizing a scanning electron microscope. The resulting micrographs greatly enhance illustrative material previously available in the literature.
Ray, James Paine (1974). A study of the coral reef crustaceans (Decapoda and Stomatopoda) of two Gulf of Mexico reef systems : West Flower Garden, Texas and Isla de Lobos, Veracruz, Mexico. Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -172622.