Metaharpinia floridana (Shoemaker, 1933)

Material Examined: CNCR­20398; number of specimens: 1; CV station; collection date: 01/08/98.

Type locality: Off Key Largo, Florida.

Distribution: This species has been reported from South Carolina to Cuba (Shoemaker, 1933; Barnard, 1980; Thomas, 1993), from Perdido Key, Florida (Rakocinski et al., 1993; 1996) and on the Yucatan shelf (Ortiz, 1979).

Range extension: Within the Gulf of Mexico, Metaharpinia floridana is found in Florida (Shoemaker, 1933; Thomas, 1993; Rakocinski et al., 1993; 1996) and on theYucatan shelf (Ortiz, 1979). The record of this species at CV inlet, Veracruz State, extends its geographic distribution westward along the Gulf coast of Mexico.

Remarks: This species has been recorded between 10 and 60 m depths as a benthic component on sand, clay and carbonate bottoms (Shoemaker, 1933; Thomas, 1993). The salinity and temperature ranges measured at the site were 19 to 27 %o and from 28 to 29 °C, respectively, at 3 m depth.