On the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica there are 3 species of hydrocorals and 44 species of scleractinian corals: 5 azooxanthellate and 39 zooxanthellate corals, all common Caribbean species. On the Pacific side of Costa Rica, there are 5 species of hydrocorals, all from Isla del Coco, with 2 species endemic to the island, and 46 species of scleractinian corals: 24 zooxanthellate and 22 azooxanthellate. Half of the azooxanthellate corals are from deepwaters around Isla del Coco, and one is endemic to the island. The shallow-water stony coral species composition and richness of the Costa Rican Pacific reefs is comparable to neighboring countries, but the number of species on the Caribbean is lower than in the neighboring countries.
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Cortés, J. (2009). Stony Corals. In: Wehrtmann, I.S., Cortés, J. (eds) Marine Biodiversity of Costa Rica, Central America. Monographiae Biologicae, vol 86. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8278-8_14
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