A Checklist of Fishes of the Aldermen Islands, North-Eastern New Zealand, with Additions to the Fishes of Red Mercury Island
13 A CHECKLIST OF FISHES OF THE ALDERMEN ISLANDS, NORTH-EASTERN NEW ZEALAND, WITH ADDITIONS TO THE FISHES OF RED MERCURY ISLAND by Roger V. Grace* SUMMARY Sixty-five species of marine fishes are listed for the Aldermen Islands, and additions made to an earlier list for Red Mercury Island (Grace, 1972), 35 km to the north. Warm water affinities of the faunas are briefly discussed. INTRODUCTION During recent years, and particularly the last four years, over 30 species of fishes have been added to the New Zealand fish fauna through observation by divers, mainly at the Poor Knights Islands (Russell, 1971; Stephenson, 1970, 1971; Doak, 1972; Whitley, 1968). A high proportion of the fishes of northern New Zealand have strong sub-tropical affinities (Moreland, 1958), and there is considerable evidence (Doak, 1972) to suggest that many of the recently discovered species are new arrivals from tropical and subtropical areas. These fishes probably arrive as eggs or larvae, carried by favourable ocean currents, and find suitable habitats for their development at the Poor Knights Islands, where the warm currents that transported the young fish or eggs maintain a water temperature higher than that on the adjacent coast, or islands to the south. Unless these fishes are able to establish breeding populations in New Zealand waters, they are likely to be merely transient. If they become established, they may begin to spread and colonise other off-shore islands and the coast. In order to monitor any spreading of new arrivals, or die-off due to inability to breed, it is desirable to compile a series of fish lists, as complete as possible, for the off-shore islands of the north-east coast of New Zealand.
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