Hyperiid Amphipods of Banco Chinchorro

The Hyperiid amphipod fauna of the tropical northwestern Atlantic is poorly known, particularly in the western Caribbean Sea. Twenty-eight species of Hyperiid were collected from two zooplankton samplings carried out in Banco Chinchorro, an oceanic atoll in the westernmost part of the Caribbean Sea. Lestrigonus bengalensis (40% of hyperiid numbers), Paratyphis maculatus (13.3%) and Tetrathyrus forcipatus (6.3%) were the most abundant species. Hyperiideans were most abundant in the western area of Banco Chinchorro (1202 ± 116 org/ 1000 m³); and least abundant in the reef lagoon. ShannonWiener diversity and species richness followed a similar pattern. The strong differences of these parameters between the reef lagoon and the oceanic areas of Banco Chinchorro showed that the oceanic influence within Chinchorro is weak. The occurrence of the highest hyperiid density, diversity, and species richness in the western part seems to be related to accumulation or retention effect in this protected zone.