The fishes of the family Atherinopsidae (Teleostei: Atheriniformes) from mexican iso and hypersalin coastal lagoons

Abstract

The Order Atheriniformes includes six families, represented in Mexico by two of them: Atherinopsidae whose species are restricted to the freshwater highland lakes and shore estuarine species from both coasts of Mexico. Atherinidae is composed by only two marine shore species from the Gulf of Mexico. The new world silversides are located in the neritic zone and the epilimnion of lakes and rivers of highlands as well in the coastal plain. This group, comprises several marine species that goes into the continental waters and are frequently found in isohalyne and hypersaline coastal lagoons. These fish are interesting because their outstanding abundance in the aquatic ecosystems as well as their ecological role in low and medium trophic levels, besides being important commercially because they are part of some local or regional fisheries. Several taxonomic and biological information of each species is included. We can conclude that there are two taxonomic groups well defined: one in the Pacific and the other one in the Atlantic. From the ecological point of view, there are seven estenohalyn species and five eurihalyn that also have several salinity tolerance levels.