Firsts records and expansion of the geographic distribution of the oceanic puffer, Lagocephalus lagocephalus (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae), in the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract In the northwestern Atlantic the genusLagocephalusis represented by 2 species:Lagocephalus lagocephalus, with an oceanic distribution, andLagocephalus laevigatus, of coastal habits. In the present work the first records of the species in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean waters off Mexico are presented, with 18 adult and juvenile specimens being captured. The adults reached sizes of 360-484 mm standard length (SL) and weighed between 845 and 1,900 g, and the sizes of the juveniles ranged between 24 and 30 mm SL, with weight ranging between 1 and 10 g. Specimens were caught using a mid-water net (NMWT 25/25), a surface longline, and a bottom longline in neritic and oceanic waters of the exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea off Mexico, at depths ranging from 30 to 312 m. The presence ofL. lagocephalusmay be associated with the climatic conditions of the nortes season, when strong winds blow towards the coastal region, and with the reproductive phase of the species.