Coastal fish diversity of the Socotra Archipelago, Yemen
- PMID: 31712491
- DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4636.1.1
Coastal fish diversity of the Socotra Archipelago, Yemen
Abstract
The Socotra Archipelago, located in the eastern Gulf of Aden, has a unique marine environment which combines tropical and 'pseudo-temperate' elements. Studies on the fish biogeography of the archipelago, partially framed in regional studies, have substantially outpaced critical elementary research on the archipelago's fish diversity. The present study seeks to close this gap and identifies the Socotra Archipelago as a major hotspot of coastal fish diversity in the Indian Ocean. The archipelago supports unique coastal fish assemblages which are predominantly composed of coral-associated ("reef") species, in spite of the limited biogenic reef frameworks. A Preliminary Checklist comprises 682 species with confirmed records and a "Working List" includes an additional 51 records, totalling 733 faunal records in 108 families. The family Labridae is the most speciose, followed by Gobiidae, Pomacentridae, Serranidae and Chaetodontidae. The species richness of the archipelago is the highest when compared to adjacent Arabian ecoregions. The richness of the Acanthuridae, Chaetodontidae, Labridae, Pomacentridae and Pseudochromidae stand out as particularily high, and the richness of several families is as high as or higher than in the entire Red Sea. The total archipelagic richness is extrapolated at up to 875 species based on incidence-based richness models and expert opinion. Inshore fish inventories, covering 497 species, found between 14 and 132 species per site (x̄ = 66). Site diversity decreased across the archipelago from west to east and from north to south. Total fish diversity was highest around Socotra Island, followed by Abd al-Kuri Kal Farun and Darsa Samha. Occurrence frequencies were very unevenly distributed and dominated by Pomacentrus caeruleus and Thalassoma lunare, whilst many species were infrequent. The fish assemblages are dominated by species from the Indo-West Pacific and the north-western Indian Ocean. The assemblages are rich in rare species and hybrids, and include a low number of endemics (4-5), and a high number of species with far-reaching and Western Indian Ocean ranges.
Keywords: Pisces, Coastal fish assemblages; Socotra Archipelago; diversity distribution; richness modelling; species inventory.
Similar articles
-
Biogeography of the coastal fishes of the Socotra Archipelago: Challenging current ecoregional concepts.PLoS One. 2022 Apr 29;17(4):e0267086. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267086. eCollection 2022. PLoS One. 2022. PMID: 35486578 Free PMC article.
-
The coastal fishes and fisheries of the Socotra Archipelago, Yemen.Mar Pollut Bull. 2016 Apr 30;105(2):660-75. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.025. Epub 2016 Jan 19. Mar Pollut Bull. 2016. PMID: 26795842 Review.
-
Parrotfishes (Teleostei: Labridae: Scarini) of the Socotra Archipelago: Diversity and distributional biogeography, including a range extension of Scarus zufar Randall & Hoover, 1995.Zootaxa. 2023 Dec 20;5389(3):301-330. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5389.3.1. Zootaxa. 2023. PMID: 38221021
-
Diversity and composition of estuarine and lagoonal fish assemblages of Socotra Island, Yemen.J Fish Biol. 2016 May;88(5):2004-26. doi: 10.1111/jfb.12964. J Fish Biol. 2016. PMID: 27170111
-
Notes on batoid fishes of the Socotra Archipelago (north-western Indian Ocean), with four new records.Zootaxa. 2021 Apr 7;4951(3):zootaxa.4951.3.5. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4951.3.5. Zootaxa. 2021. PMID: 33903392 Review.
Cited by
-
Baseline study for the total mercury determination in Yemeni fish.Heliyon. 2024 May 15;10(10):e31282. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31282. eCollection 2024 May 30. Heliyon. 2024. PMID: 38803935 Free PMC article.
-
Biogeography of the coastal fishes of the Socotra Archipelago: Challenging current ecoregional concepts.PLoS One. 2022 Apr 29;17(4):e0267086. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267086. eCollection 2022. PLoS One. 2022. PMID: 35486578 Free PMC article.
-
Integrated Taxonomy Revealed Genetic Differences in Morphologically Similar and Non-Sympatric Scoliodon macrorhynchos and S. laticaudus.Animals (Basel). 2022 Mar 8;12(6):681. doi: 10.3390/ani12060681. Animals (Basel). 2022. PMID: 35327079 Free PMC article.
-
Effects of forest cover on richness of threatened fish species in Japan.Conserv Biol. 2022 Jun;36(3):e13847. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13849. Epub 2021 Dec 2. Conserv Biol. 2022. PMID: 34668598 Free PMC article.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Research Materials
Miscellaneous