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ORKAMarine life guide of PeruES — Español

Region of the Peruvian sea

Tropical northern sea

Tumbes and Piura down to Lobitos. The species with open scientific records (OBIS and GBIF, CC0 or CC BY) in this region, those ORKA has seen here and those a curator confirmed.

Introduction

In this guide, the tropical sea of the north runs from the northern limit of the Peruvian sea to 4.5° S, within the Guayaquil ecoregion, which the global classification of marine ecoregions places in the Tropical Eastern Pacific province [1, 2]. A study of resident coastal fishes places the southern limit of the Tropical Eastern Pacific near the southern shore of the Gulf of Guayaquil, around 4° S [3]. In the rocky intertidal, a study of the Peruvian coast found between 3.5° and 4.5° S communities with affinities to the Panamic province, different from those that follow to the south [2].

According to the Master Plan of the Mar Tropical de Grau National Reserve, the ecosystems of that reserve in Peru's northern sea are the southern limit of distribution of the Tropical Eastern Pacific, in shallow and deep-water communities [4]. In Peru, mangroves form only at river mouths on the north coast, and their largest extent is in Tumbes [5].

Sources (5)

  1. Spalding, M. D., Fox, H. E., Allen, G. R., Davidson, N., Ferdaña, Z. A., Finlayson, M. et al. (2007). Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas. BioScience 57(7): 573–583. https://doi.org/10.1641/B570707
  2. Ibanez-Erquiaga, B., Pacheco, A. S., Rivadeneira, M. M. and Tejada, C. L. (2018). Biogeographical zonation of rocky intertidal communities along the coast of Peru (3.5–13.5° S Southeast Pacific). PLoS ONE 13(11): e0208244. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208244
  3. Robertson, D. R. and Cramer, K. L. (2009). Shore fishes and biogeographic subdivisions of the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Marine Ecology Progress Series 380: 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07925
  4. SERNANP (2026). Plan Maestro de la Reserva Nacional Mar Tropical de Grau 2026-2031. Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado, Lima. https://cdn.www.gob.pe/uploads/document/file/9468842/7752998-5-pm_2026-2031_rnmtg-f-f-f-f.pdf
  5. SERNANP (2023). Plan Maestro del Santuario Nacional Los Manglares de Tumbes 2023-2027, aprobado por Resolución Presidencial N.° 064-2023-SERNANP. Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado, Lima. https://cdn.www.gob.pe/uploads/document/file/4137567/RESOLUCION%20PRESIDENCIAL%20N%20064-2023-SERNANP.pdf.pdf

Introduction text: CC BY 4.0.

779 species · 609 with an openly licensed photo · 163 with a written account

Boundaries

From the border with Ecuador (northern edge of the exclusive economic zone) to 4.5° S. Marine ecoregion: Guayaquil (MEOW 20171, MRGID 21974), mitad norte.

Source of the boundaries

Available in Spanish only.

Límite norte: borde norte de la ZEE (MRGID 8432). Corte de -4,5°: Ibáñez-Erquiaga et al. 2018, PLoS ONE 13(11):e0208244, unidad norte 3,5–4,5°S, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6267975/ ; Plan Maestro RNMTG 2026–2031 (SERNANP), docs/research/sources/Plan_Maestro_RNMTG_2026-2031_SERNANP.txt; PDF https://cdn.www.gob.pe/uploads/document/file/9468842/7752998-5-pm_2026-2031_rnmtg-f-f-f-f.pdf, l. 440-457 (transición entre 4,5°S y 6°S). Consultados 2026-10-17.

How each list is built

Map of the regions
Map of Peru with its four sea regionsEach band links to the species list of that region, with how many species it has on record: the tropical northern sea, the transition zone, the cold central sea and the cold southern sea.Tropicalnorthern sea768 speciesselectedTropical–coldtransitionzone606 speciesColdcentral sea958 speciesColdsouthern sea624 species
The four sea regions, divided at 4.5° S, 6.0° S and 12.16° S: together they make up Peru's three marine ecoregions (MEOW). Each band is drawn 150 km wide; it is not an official boundary.

The numbers count the species with scientific records or confirmed in each region, ignoring the other filters. Where does the list come from?

By group

Species