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Composition of the Ichthyofauna Inhabiting the 110-Meter Contour of the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River to the Rio Grande

1977; University of Southern Mississippi; Volume: 1; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.18785/negs.0102.06

0148-9836

Mark E. Chittenden, Donald Moore,

Ichthyology and Marine Biology

The ichthyofauna inhabiting the 110-m bathymetric contour from the Mississippi River to the Rio Grande was very diverse in comparison to the inshore fauna, although the number of species collected decreased off south Texas. A total of 69 species were identified, although only 3662 specimens were examined. Dominant taxa were the families Sparidae, Lutjanidae, Triglidae, Serranidae and Synodontidae with Stenotomus caprinus, Pristipomoides aquilonaris, Prionotus paralatus, Serranus atrobranchus, and Synodus joetens being the most abundant species. Faunal composition was very similar along the entire 110-m contour except for large changes in abundance of Stenotomus caprinus, Pristipomoides aquilonaris, and Serranus atrobranchus. Abundance of Stenotomus caprinus decreased greatly off south Texas whereas the converse was true for Pristipomoides aquilonaris and Serranus atrobranchus. The composition of the ichthyofauna at a depth of 110-m is similar to that found on the brown shrimp grounds of the northern Gulf of Mexico.