The fishes of Alligator Reef and environs in the Florida Keys: a 2020 update

Alligator Reef is an outer reef along the Florida Keys, on the edge of the Gulfstream, offshore of the town of Islamorada, near the middle of the island chain and with a rich diversity of marine habitats within a radius of 10 nautical miles. In a pioneering survey of coral-reef fish diversity in the New World, Starck (1968) documented 516 species from Alligator Reef and its environs. A half-century later, Starck, Estapé & Estapé (2017) updated this list with numerous name changes and revisions and added an additional 102 species to the list, bringing the total to 618 species. Since 2017, we have documented 14 additional species for Alligator Reef and environs, bringing the total to 632 species in 122 families (Table 1). This intensively surveyed location continues to contain the greatest diversity of shorefish species from any comparable area in the New World (Starck, Estapé & Estapé 2017).