Biodiversity of epiphytic marine macroalgae in Mexico: composition and current status

Abstract Marine epiphyte studies in Mexico, including macroalgae, are lacking in the published literature. Floristic studies have been mainly focused on identifying the algae growing on rocky substrata, and epiphytic algae have been recorded, but only occasionally. The aim of this work is to establish the current state of knowledge of the epiphytic macroalgae and their hosts on the Mexican coasts. A systematic revision of the literature published from 1950 to 2021 is also reported, the literature information is included, and the composition, species richness, current state of knowledge of the epiphytic marine macroalgae, and their relationship with the various marine Mexican ecoregions are reported. Sixty-one publications since 1950 included at least one record of epiphytic macroalgae. In this study, 615 species of epiphytic macroalgae and 224 species of hosts for Mexico are reported. This checklist will provide a baseline for future taxonomic and biogeographic studies of the epiphytic marine algae in the country.