Origins, Distribution, and Zoogeographic Affinities of the Cirripedia (Crustacea) of the Gulf of Mexico

Spivey, Henry

The cirriped fauna of the Gulf of Mexico is reviewed and its historical development and zoogeographic affinities discussed. The Recent fauna is a diverse assemblage containing seventy-eight species-group taxa that includes fifty-eight thoracicans, two acrothoracicans and eighteen rhizocephalans. Fifteen families are represented. Half of all genera can be placed in the Pliocene of the Gulf Region; a number of lepadomorph genera may have appeared by the Triassic and balanomorph genera by the Eocene. Species were derived largely from Miocene tropical American taxa. Overall endemism of 14% is low but is representative of many other invertebrate groups. Latitudinal distributions within the western Atlantic of shallow-water cirripeds occurring in the Gulf of Mexico have been examined. Evidence presented indicates that the Gulf of Mexico is a transition region or zone between tropical and temperature shelf faunas. The tropical elements are numerically more diverse and are derived equally from the West Indian and Caribbean Provinces. North temperate species range into the southern half of the region. Eurythermal taxa are numerous and widely distributed, and likely have been since the upper Pliocene.

Origins, Distribution, and Zoogeographic Affinities of the Cirripedia (Crustacea) of the Gulf of Mexico

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