Soft corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Octocorallia) of the offerings 178 and 179 of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, Mexico

Abstract

Background. Since 1978, more than 200 offerings have been studied in the archeological zone of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, where an enormous diversity of cultural objects, as well as rests of human beings, plants, and animals, including several coral species have been found. The offerings 178 and 179 were exca-vated recently, as they were discovered in 2019, and due to the type of material, but mainly because of the number of specimens, its excavation process and study have been slow and meticulous, and it is unfinished yet in the 178. Objectives. This study describes the soft corals deposited in these two offerings. Methods. Excavation, extraction, cleaning, and preservation of the corals were performed according to the Proyecto Templo Mayor protocol. Due to the state of conservation of the samples, and the effects of almost 500 years of burial, taxonomic identification was made considering the external morphological characteristics. Results. Until now, in both offerings, there are four species of gorgonians of the genus Pacifigorgia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae), currently distributed on the Mexican Pacific coast. In Offering 178, three species are registered, and four in Offering 179. Conclusions. The relevant aspect of these offerings, in particular Offering 178, is the exceptional amount of buried corals, because both contain more than 150 entire colonies and almost 300 lots of fragments, for a total of 454 corals, a number never recorded previously in any other offering in the heart of ancient Tenochtitlan during the last 45 years of excavations. Because the study of corals of the sacred temple will continue due to more excavation of offerings, the number of species and specimens will increase in the future.