| Ecuador has a high diversity of ecosystems in its coastal and marine territory with beaches, bays, estuaries, cliffs, coastal lagoons and rocky coasts being the most representative. So far, 1,859 marine species have been identified in Ecuador. Of these, 1380 species of non-commercial marine invertebrates and vertebrates, belonging to 8 Phyla and distributed in 25 groups or classes, occur along the coast of Ecuador. These are: Protozoans, 9 groups: Oceanic and estuarine Diatoms, Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta, Dinoflagellates, Coccolithophorida, Silicoflagellates, Euglenophyta, Tintinnids and planktonic and benthic Foraminifera; Cnidaria, 2 classes: Hydromedusae and Scyphomedusae; Mollusca, 5 classes: Wood-boring molluscs and rock-boring and benthic bivalves;... |
