Abstract

Although fish are one of the most abundant, conspicuous and structurally important inhabitants of reef systems, the group has remained largely ignored from biodiversity accounts on the Oaxaca reef track. Reef icthyofauna composition at 10 sites between Mazunte and Isla Montosa was gathered through stationary visual census techniques during 1998-2008. A total of 112 species belonging to 81 genera, 40 families and 11 orders were recorded. Species richness of the study area is higher than similar reef communities in the Mexican Pacific. Thirty species represent new records for the study area, and some discrepancies were found between local (this study) and regional accounts. Our data suggest that species composition in the area is still incomplete.