Highlights•MCE habitat and diversity have been previously underestimated.•The shallow-
water reef community overlaps considerably with the upper mesophotic.•The lower …

Although the existence of zooxanthellate corals in mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs;
light-dependent coral ecosystems from 30 to 150 m in depth) has been known since the …

Shallow coral reefs are extensively studied but, although scleractinian corals have been
recorded to 165 m, little is known about other mesophotic coral reef ecosystem (MCE) …

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) in Puerto Rico cover a potential area of 2180 km 2 or
38% of the total area from the shoreline to 150 m. MCEs occur primarily along the upper …

Mesophotic coral reefs are largely unexplored nearshore habitats. We present illustrations of
both sexes of a new copepod species of the family Longipediidae Sars, 1903 collected via …

Compared to their shallower counterparts, reef systems deeper than~ 50 m remain largely
unexplored. Primarily, this has been because of the depth limits of traditional scuba …

New records of pontarachnid mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from the Caribbean island of
Puerto Rico are presented. Litarachna lopezae sp. n., from substrata collected from Bajo de …

The present study reports a new record of the suctorian ciliate Thecacineta calix as an
epibiont of harpacticoid copepods from the mesophotic coral ecosystems of Puerto Rico and …

The taxonomy and ecology of ostracods in the Caribbean remain incomplete, even though
they are among the most successful and ubiquitous microcrustaceans of marine …

The cumacean fauna of the Caribbean mesophotic reefs is remarkably rich but
understudied. Herein, we present the description of 22 new species of the family …