COASTAL FISHES OF THE WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: A Longstanding Vision Realized South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity Somerset Street, Private Bag 1015, Grahamstown, Eastern Province, South Africa, www.saiab.ac.za email: [email protected] Tel: +27 (0) 46 603 5800 Fax: +27 (0) 46 622 2403 COASTAL FISHES OF THE WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Volume 1 Introductory chapters which include the oceanography of the WIO, the origins of coral reefs, A Longstanding Vision Realized an account of the people who laid the foundations of our knowledge of the WIO’s fishes, and more. The remainder of the volume covers the agnaths and condrichthyans of the area. Origins Volume 2 This volume includes a brief overview of the evolution of bony fishes, their anatomy and a key to the orders. Then follows accounts of families of the Orders Elopiformes to Mugiliformes. In 1949, not long after the publication of The Sea Fishes of Southern Africa, JLB Smith Volume 3 The remainder of the non-perciforms teleosts, from the Atheriniformes to the Scorpaeniformes. was offered the directorship of the Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg. He turned the Volume 4 A key to the families of Perciformes, and the families Latidae to Chaetodontidae offer down, as he wanted to focus on a book on the fishes of the Western Indian Ocean, Volume 5 The key to the families, and the families Oplegnathidae to Draconettidae. which he said would take him a year or two. The vision was never fulfilled. Volume 6 The key to the families, and the families Gobiidae to Molidae, and the Latimeriidae. Each taxon has its appropriate keys and, for several of the families, a glossary of terms used in the account In 1986, the final successor to The Sea Fishes of Who put the book together? has been included. The volumes are well illustrated, with black-and-white illustration in keys and for species, Southern Africa, Margaret Smith and Phil Heemstra’s where appropriate, and colour plates of the species. The inside back and front covers of each volume will Smiths’ Sea Fishes, was published. Margaret died in Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean, with main have various maps of the Western Indian Ocean. 1987. Some 10 years later, Phil resurrected JLB’s idea editors Philip Heemstra, Elaine Heemstra, David of a book on the fishes of the Western Indian Ocean. Ebert, Wouter Holleman and John Randall, is to be Format and cost And now, 20 years after the re-birth of JLB Smith’s published early in 2018. It is the culmination of the The book will measure about 220mm wide x 280mm deep. Consideration is being given to both hard-cover idea, this is about to become a reality. work of more than 100 authors, photographers and illustrators, of editors, proofreaders, reviewers and soft-cover binding. The cost for a hard-cover will be in the region of R3500 per set ($270, €240) The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is home to one and others, over a period of more than 20 years. and soft-cover R2000 ($150, €130). of the richest biotas of marine fishes on the planet, Amongst the major contributors are Phil Heemstra, comprising some 3600 species, or about 20% of the Dave Ebert, Dave Smith, Bruce Collette, Stuart Poss, Expression of interest world’s marine fish fauna. Although the WIO region Jack Randall, Gerry Allen, Helen Larson, Danny If you are interested in this publication, please 1) access the reply form on our website is the site for most of the earliest scientifically valid Hensley and Kunio Amaoka, Eric Anderson and http://www.saiab.ac.za/coastal-fishes-of-the-western-indian-ocean.htm and complete the online form, descriptions of Indo-Pacific fishes, the extent of its Keiichi Matsuura. OR 2) complete the form below, scan and mail it to [email protected], OR 3) post it to: fish fauna is still poorly known. Despite considerable effort by ichthyologists over the past two centuries, Coverage and contents WIO Fishes – Expression of Interest, SAIAB, Private Bag 1015, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa many new species of fishes are described each year: This will help assess the number of copies to have printed. of the 329 new marine species described between The resulting publication, far more substantial PLATE 20 PLATE 202002 and 2012, 140 were from the WIO. than JLB Smith could have imagined, arranged in Your name: Family MYLIOBATIDAE, FamilyEaglerays; MYLIOBATIDAE Family RHINOPTERIDAE,, Eaglerays; Family Cownose RHINOPTERIDAE, Rays Cownosesix volumes, Rays covers species that occur in waters Institution: PLATE 20 generally shallower than 200 m. In this work, the Family MYLIOBATIDAE, Eaglerays; Family RHINOPTERIDAE, Cownose Rays Western Indian Ocean includes the Red Sea and Address: Persian Gulf and extends to Cape Point, South Africa, and Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India. 1 1 2 Some authors2 have included fishes from the Gulf of Mannar and wider Sri Lanka. Email Address: 1 3 3 2 Binding preference: Hard cover Soft cover Nr. of sets Purpose: Institution Library Personal 3 4 4 5a 5a 6 6 5b 5b 4 5a 6 1 Aetobatis narinari, spotted eagleray, 1461 Aetobatis cm DW (Snarinari Mozambique)., spotted eagleray,2 Aetomylaeus 146 cm nichofi DW (S i, Mozambique).banded eagleray,5b 2 54Aetomylaeus cm DW, 92 nichofi cm TL i, (Persianbanded eagleray,Gulf). 54 cm DW, 92 cm TL (Persian Gulf). 3 Aetomylaeus vespertilio, ornate eagleray3 Aetomylaeus (Maldives). vespertilio4 Myliobatis, ornate aquila eagleray, bullray, (Maldives). 128 cm DW 4 (Mozambique).Myliobatis aquila 5, Pteromylaeusbullray, 128 cm bovinus DW (Mozambique)., duckbill ray, 5 Pteromylaeus bovinus, duckbill ray, (a) 86 cm DW female; (b) 22 cm DW unborn(a) 86 pupcm DW (both female; South (b) Africa; 22 cm from DW Heemstra unborn pup & Heemstra (both South 2004). Africa; 6 Rhinoptera from Heemstra javanica & Heemstra, fl apnose 2004). ray, 128 cm 6 Rhinoptera javanica, fl apnose ray, 128 cm DW (N Mozambique). DW (N Mozambique). 1 Aetobatis narinari, spottedFamily eagleray, MOBULIDAE 146 cm DW (S Mozambique)., Mantas,Family 2devilrays Aetomylaeus MOBULIDAE nichofi i, banded, Mantas, eagleray, devilrays 54 cm DW, 92 cm TL (Persian Gulf). 3 Aetomylaeus vespertilio, ornate eagleray (Maldives). 4 Myliobatis aquila, bullray, 128 cm DW (Mozambique). 5 Pteromylaeus bovinus, duckbill ray, (a) 86 cm DW female; (b) 22 cm DW unborn pup (both South Africa; from Heemstra & Heemstra 2004). 6 Rhinoptera javanica, fl apnose ray, 128 cm DW (N Mozambique). Family MOBULIDAE, Mantas, devilrays 2 2 1 1 3 3 2 1 3 4 4 5 5 1 Manta birostris, giant manta, ~4 m DW1 Manta immature birostris male, giantdorsal manta, view (South ~4 m DWAfrica) immature and ventral male viewdorsal (Mozambique). view (South Africa) and ventral view (Mozambique). 2 Mobula eredoogootenkee, pygmy devilray,2 Mobula female eredoogootenkee (Madagascar). , pygmy3 Mobula devilray, kuhlii, female shortfi (Madagascar).n devilray, 110 3cm Mobula DW malekuhlii (Mozambique)., shortfi n devilray, 110 cm DW male (Mozambique). 4 Mobula thurstoni, bentfi n devilray, 1904 Mobula cm DW thurstoni (Oman)., 5bentfi Mobula4 n devilray, japanica 190, Japanese cm DW devilray (Oman). (Pakistan). 5 Mobula japanica, Japanese devilray (Pakistan). 5 1 Manta birostris, giant manta, ~4 m DW immature male dorsal view (South Africa) and ventral view (Mozambique). 296 2 Mobula eredoogootenkee296 , pygmy devilray, female (Madagascar). 3 Mobula kuhlii, shortfi n devilray, 110 cm DW male (Mozambique). 4 Mobula thurstoni, bentfi n devilray, 190 cm DW (Oman). 5 Mobula japanica, Japanese devilray (Pakistan). 296 CLASS Osteichthyes (Bony Fishes) ORDER B eryciformes FAMILY Monocentridae FAMILY Monocentridae Pineapple fishes by Phillip C� Heemstra Pineapple fishes Body oval but somewhat compressed, with enlarged, bony, plate- like scales , bearing a sharp, carinate spine and fused to form a by Phillip C� Heemstra solid, bony armour. Two dorsal fins, first with 4–7 stout, ridged spines without interconnecting membranes; second dorsal fin his is a poorly understood group that currently is with 11–12 soft (segmented) rays connected by a transparent considered to include seven families: Berycidae, membrane; anal fin similar to soft dorsal fin; caudal fin forked, Holocentridae, Anoplogasteridae,Body Trachichthyidae, oval but somewhat compressed, with enlarged, bony,the lobes plate- short, with rounded tips, branched rays 17; pelvic fins Anomalopidae,T Diretmidae, and Monocentridae. They are with a large spine and 3–4 tiny soft rays; the pelvic fin spines probably an artificial assemblage of unrelatedlike taxa. scales , bearing a sharp, carinate spine and fused canto be form locked erect a and and fit into a groove along sides of belly Monocentris japonica: 11 cm SL 1a (O. Alvheim, IMR); ventral view Most species live in deep marine waters and avoid bright when depressed. Snout short, bluntly rounded; light organ on light, although may come closer to the surface at night. The of lower jaw with light organs near solid, bony armour. Two dorsal fins, first with 4–7 stout,lower jaw. ridged Solitary, demersal. symphysis shown by arrows (both Holocentridae, which have their greatest diversity on coral Pineapple fishes live in 3–400 m. An Indo-Pacific family Mozambique). reefs, are largely or entirely nocturnal. Thespines have relatively without large interconnecting membranes; second dorsalwith 2 genera fin and 4 species; 1 species in WIO. The monotypic eyes. During the day they tend to remain hidden in crevaces, in 2a Cleidopus gloriamaris is endemic to Australia. It has the jaws case or under ledges. with 11–12 soft (segmented) rays connected by a transparentstrongly