Revised checklist and key to the petreous zooxanthellate corals (Hydrozoa : Milleporina; Anthozoa : Scleractinia) of the Mexican Atlantic

A revised and annotated checklist of fifty-seven zooxanthellate stony coral species (three milleporids and fifty-four scleractinian) is presented for the Mexican East Coast. This report includes synonyms and a simplified key to species on the list. Morphological and taxonomic observations are includ ed when authors disagree in the taxonomic position and/or identification of the species, as well as when taxonomic information is pertinent, or when d istribution data are relevant for some species in the Mexican Atlantic. A q ualitative analysis of species abundance and geographic distribution, and b athymetric range data are presented. There is a reduction in the genera and species numbers from the Mexican Caribbean to the Gulf of Mexico and there , from the Campeche Bank to Veracruz. Furthermore, the number of abundant s pecies is lower in the Gulf of Mexico than in the Mexican Caribbean, and th e common species for all reef zones have a wider bathymetric range in the M exican Caribbean.