Resumen del producto

Knowledge of cephalopod communities based on the identification of paralarvae in Mexican waters is limited mostly to the west coast of the Baja California peninsula. We report here the presence of paralarvae pertaining to 45 taxa including 12 families, 17 genera, 21 species, and 20 forms. Paralarvae were collected with oblique and surface plankton tows during eight oceanographic cruises made from November 2004 to July 2007 inside the Gulf of California. Descriptions, photographs, and detailed drawings of the paralarvae at different sizes were done for all taxa. Growth series for Gonatus pyros and Enoploteuthis type 1 (probably E. obliqua) not previously described are included, as well as those of male and female Argonauta argo and A. hians present in the plankton of the Gulf of California. Pterygioteuthis sp. 1 (small P. hoylei that do not yet show the five inner small ocular photophores) were the most abundant paralarvae collected in oblique tows (16 to 83%) followed by the SD Complex (Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis-Dosidicus gigas). In plankton samples from surface nets the SD Complex contributed 79 to 99% of all paralarvae collected. Distribution of dominant taxa showed important seasonal signals of high abundance: March and May for P. hoylei; and May, September, and November for SD Complex paralarvae. Identification of paralarvae, especially of Pterygioteuthis sp. 1 and SD Complex using molecular tools, are currently in progress.

Palabras clave: Species Richness; Paralarval assemblages; Cephalopod paralarvae

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