REVISION OF THE TAXA OF THE GENUS NEOCERATIUM F. GÓMEZ, D. MOREIRA ET P. LÓPEZ-GARCÍA (DINOPHYCEAE) AND FIRST REPORT OF N. DENS IN THE COLOMBIAN CARIBBEAN

Abstract

This work summarizes the taxa within the genus Neoceratium found in a transect along the Colombian Caribbean coast, in Gaira and Santa Marta bays, and Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta. Based on an extensive literature review, 56 of the 65 taxa of Neoceratium reported in this study have been recorded for the Colombian Caribbean Sea, and the remaining nine are new reports for the region. Neoceratium arietinum f. gracilentum, N. horridum, buceros > horridum were first recorded for the Colombian Caribbean. Neoceratium dens, not registered in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas, is reported for the first time in this part of the Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean Sea), along the Colombian Caribbean Coast. Neoceratium breve form A and N. tenue form A could not be placed within any variety of form of the respective species. A literature review, description of sizes and distributions, and ecological information are included for the nine taxa recorded for the first time in the Colombian Caribbean. The highest percentages of abundance of the genus Neoceratium were found in the stations located off the coast of the La Guajira and the Magdalena provinces, and the lowest in the stations located off the coast of the La Guajira and the Magdalena provinces, and the lowest in the stations located in the departments situated off the southern part of the Colombian Caribbean coast. The distribution apparently is related to the distribution of water masses, which have more northward oceanic influence, and more southward coastal influence.