See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228496999 Key to the common shallow-water brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea Article · January 2007 CITATIONS READS 10 702 1 author: Christopher Pomory University of West Florida 34 PUBLICATIONS 303 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Christopher Pomory on 21 May 2014. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately. 1 Key to the common shallow-water brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea CHRISTOPHER M. POMORY 2007 Department of Biology, University of West Florida, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32514, USA.
[email protected] ABSTRACT A key is given for 85 species of ophiuroids from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea covering a depth range from the intertidal down to 30 m. Figures highlighting important anatomical features associated with couplets in the key are provided. 2 INTRODUCTION The Caribbean region is one of the major coral reef zoogeographic provinces and a region of intensive human use of marine resources for tourism and fisheries (Aide and Grau, 2004). With the world-wide decline of coral reefs, and deterioration of shallow-water marine habitats in general, ecological and biodiversity studies have become more important than ever before (Bellwood et al., 2004). Ecological and biodiversity studies require identification of collected specimens, often by biologists not specializing in taxonomy, and therefore identification guides easily accessible to a diversity of biologists are necessary.