Seagrass Halodule wrightii as a new habitat for the amphioxus Branchiostoma californiense (Cephalochordata, Branchiostomidae) in the southern Gulf of California, Mexico

By

Campos-Dávila, Lucía
Estrada, Claudia Jeannette
Rodríguez-Estrella, Ricardo
Morales-Bojórquez, Enrique
Brun-Murillo, Fernando G. (Fernando Guillermo), 1976-
Balart, Eduardo F.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

873

Pages

113--131

Subjects

Allometric growth pattern , amphioxi , isometric growth pattern , morphological variability , new habitat , sex size structure

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.873.33901

 

Abstract

The first record of the amphioxusBranchiostoma californienseon seagrass patches ofHalodule wrightiiin the Gulf of California is reported. Sixty individuals (19 males, 18 females, and 23 undifferentiated) were collected in May 2017 at Bahía Balandra, Gulf of California, from subtidal seagrass patches at a depth of 0.5 m at low tide. The length and weight ranged from 15.88–28.44 mm and from 0.01–0.11 g for females and 11.7–27.9 mm and 0.01–0.09 g for males, respectively. The minimum size of sexually mature individuals was 11.70 mm for males and 15.88 mm for females; 62% of the specimens were sexually mature. Analysis of the total length-weight relationship suggested an allometric growth pattern among females, males and undifferentiated individuals, whereas an analysis of the entire sample suggested an isometric growth pattern. Typical and additional morphological characters were used to identify the amphioxi. High morphological variability between individuals was found, suggesting the presence of several morphotypes.Branchiostoma californiensehad been previously reported as exclusively associated with bare sandy areas, but our study shows that this species can also be found in seagrass patches, using them as breeding and feeding grounds. Thus, seagrass patches are evidenced as suitable habitats for amphioxus.