| en |
Fishes of the Tristan da Cunha group and Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean
T.G. Andrew, T. Hecht, P.C. Heemstra and J.R.E. Lutjeharms
Abstract
Recent collections of fishes from the South Atlantic islands of the Tristan
da Cunha Group (Tristan, Inaccessible and Nightingale) and Gough Island
have produced 25 new records. Fifty one species are known to occur in the
near-shore waters of the islands (46 of these are documented by specimens
and another 5 species are probable). A diagnosis, synonymy and in most
cases, an illustration, are provided for each species. For certain species,
brief notes on biology, relative abundance and seasonal distribution are
included. The neritic ichthyofauna of the Subtropical Convergence (STC)
region is characterized, and the importance of this frontal zone as a
barrier to dispersal of species in the Southern Ocean is evaluated.
Analysis of the zoogeographic affinities of the Tristan/Gough fish fauna
resulted in a redefinition of the West Wind Drift Islands Province (WWDI),
comprising the Tristan Group and Gough in the South Atlantic and St. Paul
and Amsterdam Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Vema Seamount (west of
Cape Town) and Walters Shoal (south of Madagascar) are excluded from the
WWDI Province, as the affinities of their poorly-known fish faunas appear
to be more with South Africa and the tropical Indian Ocean respectively.
|
