ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Hairy Clinging Crab (Amphithrax pilosus)
A dive briefing · Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Punta Sur

Dive site off Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Here's what has been recorded at this site month by month, how the region’s reefs have weathered ocean heat, and how to prepare.

Cozumelreef
At this sitegeotagged 707 m from the site coordinates Hairy Clinging Crab (Amphithrax pilosus) · Justin Philbois · CC0 · iNaturalist
Sponge Brittle Star (Ophiothrix suensonii)
Chapter I · Arrival

Punta Sur: dive site off Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

20.287° N87.032° W · OpenStreetMap · node/663869325
21open records · GBIF
21species recorded
At this sitegeotagged 634 m from the site coordinates Sponge Brittle Star (Ophiothrix suensonii) · Justin Philbois · CC0 · iNaturalist
II

Entry

Sponge Brittle Star (Ophiothrix suensonii)

Shore and boat entries vary by site. We list only rules we can cite from official sources; entry points, depths and currents will be added once we can verify them.

To verifyDepth range, entry points and current notes. We publish them only with a citation. The coordinates mark the site in general, not a mooring or entry point.
Local rules (cited)
  • The Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park charges an entry fee of $225 MXN per person per day (as listed by CONANP), with listed exemptions and discounts. CONANP · Arrecifes de Cozumel
  • CONANP visitor rules include keeping 1.5 m from the reefs, not feeding wildlife, and hiring only CONANP-authorized boats and guides. CONANP · Protected Areas
  • Ask your operator for the park wristband (brazalete). CONANP says it is your proof of having paid the conservation fee. CONANP · Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Cozumel

At this sitegeotagged 634 m from the site coordinates Sponge Brittle Star (Ophiothrix suensonii) · Justin Philbois · CC0 · iNaturalist

▶
Captain's footage: Punta Sur
[video slot · coming soon]

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Punta Sur rises to meet you.

Hairy Clinging Crab (Amphithrax pilosus)
IV

What lives here, by month

Pick a month. These are the species most often recorded within about a kilometre in that month, from open survey records.

Oct
October · 0 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Cubera snapper
Amphithrax pilosus
Caribbean spiny lobster
Greater Soapfish
Stoplight Parrotfish
Long-spine porcupinefish
Plate fish
Lettuce Coral
Deep-water sea fan
Margate
White Grunt
Cottonwick

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Amphithrax pilosus (1)
  2. Caribbean spiny lobster (1)
  3. Lettuce Coral (1)
  4. Deep-water sea fan (1)
  5. Margate (1)
  6. White Grunt (1)
  7. Cottonwick (1)
  8. Bluestriped Grunt (1)
  9. Cubera snapper (1)
  10. Foureye butterflyfish (1)
  11. Greater Soapfish (1)
  12. Stoplight Parrotfish (1)
  13. Sergeant Major (1)
  14. Threespot Damselfish (1)
  15. Black triggerfish (1)
  16. Scrawled cowfish (1)
  17. Finger Coral (1)
  18. Blue Chromis (1)
  19. Long-spine porcupinefish (1)
  20. Plate fish (1)

GBIF.org (2026-10-14), occurrence records within ~1 km, licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0 only. Birds and land animals are excluded. Counts reflect survey effort, not abundance. 21 qualifying records. See them on GBIF. Common names: Wikidata (CC0) / GBIF. Species photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species.

V

Forty-one summers of heat

Each stripe is one year since 1985, colored by its peak heat stress across NOAA's “Quintana Roo, Mexico” region. These are NOAA Coral Reef Watch satellite figures for the whole region, not for this one site.

19852026
Reef health report · Quintana Roo, Mexico

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-1316.8°C-weeks · NOAA status: Alert Level 2

NOAA CRW virtual station “Quintana Roo, Mexico”. NOAA's alert thresholds are 4 °C-weeks (Alert Level 1) and 8 °C-weeks (Alert Level 2). Station page · Method. Credit: NOAA Coral Reef Watch.

Peak per year · dashed lines at 4, 8 and 16 °C-weeks
The past twelve months
VI

Conditions

Average sea temperature through the year. Check the live readings before you go.

Average sea surface temperature by month: NOAA CRW “Quintana Roo, Mexico” station climatology (monthly means).

Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (Mexico) →NDBC 42056 · Yucatan Basin (~234 km, open ocean) →

Buoy readings are measurements; forecasts are models. Use them for planning only, and assess conditions on site. Depth and visibility data aren't listed until we can cite a source.

VII

Plan & prepare

  1. Read the official marine forecast the night before.Offshore, wind and sea state decide the day.
  2. Check the cited local rules above and pay any park fee before you dive.[Placeholder: verified operator list to come]
  3. Study this month's species above.You'll recognise more when you know the names.
  4. Hands off, fins up, buoyancy dialled. Log what you see.Your sightings can become tomorrow's open data.

Credits

Coordinates
OpenStreetMap node/663869325 · source · ODbL. OpenStreetMap (ODbL) dive-site nodes. Most of these Cozumel nodes carry an OSM tag saying the position is unverified, so treat them as approximate.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 15, CC0_1_0: 6
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (21 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=20.27732,20.297320000000003&decimalLongitude=-87.04163000000001,-87.02163&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&taxonKey=44&taxonKey=206&taxonKey=229&taxonKey=136&taxonKey=225&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&limit=0
Heat stress & SST
NOAA Coral Reef Watch, 5 km Regional Virtual Station “Quintana Roo, Mexico”
Hero photo
At this sitegeotagged 707 m from the site coordinates Hairy Clinging Crab (Amphithrax pilosus) · Justin Philbois · CC0 · iNaturalist
Arrival photo
At this sitegeotagged 634 m from the site coordinates Sponge Brittle Star (Ophiothrix suensonii) · Justin Philbois · CC0 · iNaturalist
Gallery
5 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources