UPDATED TAXONOMIC LIST OF FISH LARVAE FROM BAHÍA SEBASTIÁN VIZCAÍNO, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MÉXICO

Larvae of 152 fish families were identified in the California Current between 1949-1984 through the CalCOFI Program. Sampling efforts in the southern California Current restarted in 1997 with the ongoing IMECOCAL Program, which includes the transitional area of Bahía Sebastián Vizcaíno (BSV). This work updates the fish larvae taxonomic list of BSV, summarizing the 20-year sampling efforts. Results showed 341 identified taxa (227 to species level, 60 to genus and 54 to family), representing 98 families. The most abundant were Phosichthyidae (37%), Myctophidae (14%) and Synodontidae (9%). Pelagic neritic species Engraulis mordax (Engraulidae) and Sardinops sagax (Clupeidae) showed their maximum larval abundance during spring and winter, respectively. Myctophidae contributed with the highest species richness (39 taxa in 20 genera), followed by the reef-associated Sebastidae (21 taxa in the Sebastes genus). Identified taxa were mostly from southern (tropical) zoogeographic affinity (80%), and a minor component had northern (boreal) affinity (8%) or wide distribution in the northeastern Pacific Ocean (12%). The highest larval abundance and species richness were registered during summer (207 taxa) and fall (219 taxa). In winter and spring, larval abundance and richness decreased almost 50%, however the number of dominant species was higher. The previous ichthyoplankton list for BSV included only samples taken during 1997-2001 and reported larvae of 186 taxa in 71 families, where mesopelagic larvae contributed with most of the abundance and taxonomic richness (˃20%). Seasonal abundance of pelagic neritic species showed a spawning preference for spring and summer conditions. For demersal species, diversity and abundance increased during fall. With this work we increase from 186 to 341 registered taxa, most of them associated to demersal reef habitats with southern distribution. One third of the taxa found (114) could not be identified to species level, highlighting the urgency for more taxonomic studies of ichthyoplankton in the area.