The benthic bionomy of the north and south coasts of Cubagua was studied. Twenty-seven transects (100 m long) were marked every 25 m, where quadrats (0.25 m2) were placed. Samples were extracted by diving and community distribution was determined. Fish were collected with 25 m seine (5 mm mesh). Sediment was extracted from the midlittoral, 50 and 100 m from the beach. On the north coast, seven rocky beaches were studied, three sandy, two with sand and rocks, and two sandy muddy beaches. Thalassia forms isolated meadows; up to 14 species of crustaceans, 15 molluscs, and 17 fish were captured 50 m from the beach. Between La Piragua and Punta Colorada, near the coast, there is a discontinuous fringe of P. strigosa and D. labyrinthiformis corals with a diameter > 3 m. At 50-100 m, the bottom has coarse sand, abundant octocorals, and caves for Amphichthys and Opisthognathus fish. Charagato Bay has a sandy bottom down to 100 m, except for a few places with octocorals; at Punta Laja and La Tintorera, some slabs are 40 cm deep and abundant coral fish; this bay is heavily influenced by tourism and numerous constructions. On the south coast, ten rocky beaches were studied, two sandy with rocks and one sandy beach; 20 species of crustaceans and 15 species of molluscs and fish were identified. The Thalassia meadows are continuous; up to 25 m, they have long leaves (> 20 cm) and reddish coloration due to epiphytic algae; at 100 m, the leaves are short (< 15 cm), and numerous Lytechinus and Echinometra sea urchins live there. The pelecypods P. imbricata and A. zebra are abundant; their dead shells are consolidated and form a typical habitat; Pseudodiploria corals are smaller than on the north coast. On rocky beaches, the brown algae Gracilaria abounds; between La Garza and La Vaquita, >100 m from the beach, there are vast colonies of Millepora. The study identified 99 species of fish, 210 mollusks, 178 decapod crustaceans, and 24 ophiuroids. A total of 14 were new national reports
