ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Common Lionfish (Pterois volitans)
A dive briefing · Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Punta Tunich

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.

Cozumelwall
At this sitegeotagged 572 m from the site coordinates Common Lionfish (Pterois volitans) · Justin Philbois · CC0 · iNaturalist
Split-crown Feather Duster (Anamobaea orstedii)
Chapter I · Arrival

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

20.356° N87.046° W · OpenStreetMap · node/663869334
154open records · GBIF
9species recorded
At this sitegeotagged 444 m from the site coordinates Split-crown Feather Duster (Anamobaea orstedii) · Justin Philbois · CC0 · iNaturalist
II

Entry

Split-crown Feather Duster (Anamobaea orstedii)

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 444 m from the site coordinates Split-crown Feather Duster (Anamobaea orstedii) · Justin Philbois · CC0 · iNaturalist

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

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Punta Tunich rises to meet you.

Common Lionfish (Pterois volitans)
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 · 2 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Ocean Triggerfish
Hawksbill
Roughhead Blenny
Butter Hamlet
Yellowline Arrow Crab
Yellowtail Damselfish
Green moray
Common Lionfish
Flamingo tongue snail

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Common Lionfish (1)
  2. Roughhead Blenny (1)
  3. Butter Hamlet (1)
  4. Yellowtail Damselfish (1)
  5. Green moray (1)
  6. Ocean Triggerfish (1)
  7. Yellowline Arrow Crab (1)
  8. Flamingo tongue snail (1)
  9. Hawksbill (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. 154 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 (~237 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/663869334 · 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: 147, CC0_1_0: 7
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (144 records) · GBIF
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (9 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Atlas de las Aves de México: Fase II · doi:10.15468/r6h87s (1 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=20.34557,20.36557&decimalLongitude=-87.05605,-87.03604999999999&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 572 m from the site coordinates Common Lionfish (Pterois volitans) · Justin Philbois · CC0 · iNaturalist
Arrival photo
At this sitegeotagged 444 m from the site coordinates Split-crown Feather Duster (Anamobaea orstedii) · Justin Philbois · CC0 · iNaturalist
Gallery
5 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources