The Freshwater and Brackish Hydrozoans of Mexico: An Overview of their Diversity
Synopsis
Hydrozoans constitute a diverse cnidarian group with different morphologies and ecological strategies, occurring in all aquatic environments, including continental water bodies. The global diversity of freshwater hydrozoans has been scarcely addressed. The number of recognized species (~60) is substantially lower than other marine groups with continental representatives, such as sponges and crustaceans. The hydrozoan fauna of Mexico is relatively well known through inventories and recent studies on brackish and marine environments, although more effort is needed. Nevertheless, freshwater taxa are not included in the last checklists, leading to a gap in the understanding of the diversity of this group in Mexico. This chapter aims to provide an image of the diversity of freshwater and brackish-water hydrozoans in Mexico by reviewing 27 works that included hydrozoans recognized as inhabitants of these environments. Our search resulted in 15 taxa grouped into two subclasses, three orders, and seven families, of which Olindiidae was the richest. Seven taxa are recorded exclusively in freshwater environments, while eight are in lagoons, estuaries, or open oceans. Additionally, four hydrozoans are considered potentially invasive in other regions of the world, and few studies have monitored their populations in Mexico. Future perspectives in the study of freshwater hydrozoans include expanding research in freshwater environments and considering molecular tools for species identification
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