SISTEMÁTICA Y DISTRIBUCIÓN DE LOS EQUINODERMOS DE LA BAHÍA DE LA PAZ.

The objectives of this paper were to present a taxonomic list and determine the richness and local distribution of the species of the phylum Echinodermata at Bahia de La Paz. An exhaustive review of published material on this subject from the last century to 1995 was made, and complemented with an analysis of specimens collected in the zone and included in the UNAM and UABCS collections. After the taxonomic information was analyzed and validated, it was found that, at Bahia de La Paz, 92 echinoderm species have been recorded: 21 species of the class Asteroidea, 18 of the class Ophiuroidea, 26 of the class Echinoidea and 27 of the class Holothuroidea. This level of echinoderm species richness is one of the highest known for the Pacific coast of Mexico and the tropical eastern Pacific region; 41% of the species have been found only in one zone of the bay and just 7% inhabit the whole site. The high level of species richness of Bahia de La Paz might be explained as a combination of a large sampling effort in the zone, together with the incidental occurrence of several species, the locationof the bay (near a zoogeographical transition zone) and the variety of local habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]