New records of marine decapods and stomatopods in Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG): four years of marine biodiversity inventorying

A four-year marine biodiversity inventory in Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), Costa Rica, has uncovered 99 new species of decapod crustaceans and stomatopods, including four potential new species and nine new records for the country. The study, part of the BioMar-ACG Project, identified a total of 271 species—more than half of those reported for Costa Rica and over a quarter of those in the eastern tropical Pacific. This significant increase (37% more species than previously recorded) highlights ACG's rich biodiversity, likely driven by its diverse habitats, seasonal upwelling, and recent sampling efforts. The project, funded by the Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund and conducted by UCR institutions, underscores the importance of targeted inventorying in marine conservation.

Vargas-Castillo, R., & Cortés, J. (2019). New records of marine decapods and stomatopods in Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG): four years of marine biodiversity inventorying. Marine Biodiversity Records, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41200-019-0181-6