First report of crested cusk-eel, Ophidion josephi (Actinopterygii: Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae), in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico

The crested cusk-eel, Ophidion josephi Girard, 1858, is a coastal marine species that distributed in the northwestern Atlantic, from northern Gulf of Mexico to Georgia, USA. Eighteen specimens (177–230 mm standard length) were caught by beach purse seine at depth about 5 m, Veracruz, southwestern Mexico. This first documentation Mexican waters and southernmost confirmed records this species, showing its range extends further south than previously known it shares faunistic similarities with other Atlantic.