List of marine fishes of South Africa

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Map of the Southern African coastline showing some of the landmarks referred to in species range statements Marine species distribution reference map Southern Africa.png
Map of the Southern African coastline showing some of the landmarks referred to in species range statements

This is a list of fishes recorded from the oceans bordering South Africa. This part of the list includes any fishes that are not bony fishes., which are the jawless and jawed cartilagenous fishes. This list comprises locally used common names, scientific names with author citation and recorded ranges. Ranges specified may not be the entire known range for the species, but should include the known range within the waters surrounding the Republic of South Africa.

Contents

List ordering and taxonomy complies where possible with the current usage in World Register of Marine Species, and may differ from the cited source, as listed citations are primarily for range or existence of records for the region. Sub-taxa within any given taxon are arranged alphabetically as a general rule. Details of each species may be available through the relevant internal links. Synonyms may be listed where useful (usually when recorded under the synonym).

A fish (pl.: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animal that lacks limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of living fish species are ray-finned fish, belonging to the class Actinopterygii, with around 99% of those being teleosts.

The earliest organisms that can be classified as fish were soft-bodied chordates that first appeared during the Cambrian period. Although they lacked a true spine, they possessed notochords which allowed them to be more agile than their invertebrate counterparts. Fish would continue to evolve through the Paleozoic era, diversifying into a wide variety of forms. Many fish of the Paleozoic developed external armor that protected them from predators. The first fish with jaws appeared in the Silurian period, after which many (such as sharks) became formidable marine predators rather than just the prey of arthropods.

Most fish are ectothermic ("cold-blooded"), allowing their body temperatures to vary as ambient temperatures change, though some of the large active swimmers like white shark and tuna can hold a higher core temperature. Fish can acoustically communicate with each other, most often in the context of feeding, aggression or courtship. ( Full article... )


Infraphylum Agnatha – Jawless fishes (Cyclostomes)

Class Myxini

Order Myxiniformes – Hagfishes

Family: Myxinidae [1]

Infraphylum Gnathostomata – Jawed fishes

Parvphylum Chondrichthyes – Cartilaginous fishes

Class Elasmobranchii – Sharks and Rays

Infraclass Batoidea – Rays (including skates, guitarfish and sawfish)
Order Myliobatiformes – Stingrays

Family: Dasyatidae – Whiptail stingrays

Family: Gymnuridae – Butterflyrays

Family: Hexatrygonidae – Sixgill stingrays

Family: Myliobatidae – Eagle rays

Order Rajiformes – Rays, skates and guitarfish

Family Anacanthobatidae

Family Arhynchobatidae

Family Gurgesiellidae

Family: Rajidae – Skates

Order Rhinopristiformes

Family: Pristidae – Sawfishes [23]

Family: Rhinobatidae – Guitarfish

Order Torpediniformes – Electric rays

Family: Narkidae

Family: Torpedinidae

Infraclass Selachii – Sharks
Order Carcharhiniformes – Ground sharks

Family: Carcharhinidae – Requiem sharks

Family: Hemigaleidae

Family: Pentanchidae

Family: Proscylliidae

Family: Scyliorhinidae – Catsharks

Family: Sphyrnidae – Hammerhead sharks

Family: Triakidae – Houndsharks

Order Echinorhiniformes

Family: Echinorhinidae – Bramble sharks

Order Hexanchiformes – Cow and frill sharks

Family: Hexanchidae – Cow sharks

Order Lamniformes – Mackerel sharks

Family: Alopiidae – Thresher sharks

Family: Cetorhinidae – Basking sharks

Family: Lamnidae – Mackerel sharks

Family: Mitsukurinidae – Goblin sharks

Family: Odontaspididae

Family: Pseudocarchariidae – Crocodile sharks

Order Orectolobiformes – Carpet sharks

Family: Ginglymostomatidae

Family: Rhincodontidae – Whale sharks

Family: Stegostomatidae

Order Pristiophoriformes – Sawsharks

Family: Pristiophoridae

Order Squaliformes – Dogfish sharks

Family: Centrophoridae

Family: Dalatiidae

Family: Somniosidae

Family: Squalidae – Dogfishes

Order Squatiniformes – Angelsharks

Family: Squatinidae

Subclass Holocephali – Chimaeras

Order Chimaeriformes

Family: Callorhinchidae – Elephantfish

Family: Chimaeridae – Chimaeras

Family: Rhinochimaeridae – Longnose chimaeras

Parvphylum Osteichthyes – Bony fishes

See article List of marine bony fishes of South Africa

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusky shark</span> Species of shark

The dusky shark is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, occurring in tropical and warm-temperate continental seas worldwide. A generalist apex predator, the dusky shark can be found from the coast to the outer continental shelf and adjacent pelagic waters, and has been recorded from a depth of 400 m (1,300 ft). Populations migrate seasonally towards the poles in the summer and towards the equator in the winter, traveling hundreds to thousands of kilometers. One of the largest members of its genus, the dusky shark reaches more than 4 m (13 ft) in length and 350 kg (770 lb) in weight. It has a slender, streamlined body and can be identified by its short round snout, long sickle-shaped pectoral fins, ridge between the first and second dorsal fins, and faintly marked fins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pigeye shark</span> Species of shark

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<i>Carcharias</i> Genus of sharks

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<i>Mobula kuhlii</i> Species of cartilaginous fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area</span> Marine conservation area on the south coast of South Africa

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References

  1. ↑ "Myxinidae Rafinesque, 1815". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 Ed. Smith, Margaret M, and Heemstra, P. Smith's sea fishes. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Grahamstown. Struik publishers, Cape Town, 2003. ISBN   1-86872-890-0
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Branch, G.M. Griffiths, C.L. Branch, M.L. Beckley, L.E. Two Oceans: A guide to the marine life of southern Africa. 5th impression, David Philip, Cape Town, 2000. ISBN   0-86486-250-4
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Jones, Georgina. A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula. SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ISBN   978-0-620-41639-9
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Zsilavecz, Guido, Coastal fishes of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay: A divers' identification guide. SURG, Cape Town, 2005. ISBN   0-620-34230-7
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 King, Dennis., and Fraser, Valda. More reef fishes and nudibranchs. Struik, Cape Town, 2001. ISBN   1-86872-686-X
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 King, Dennis. Reef fishes and corals: East coast of southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town, 1996. ISBN   1-86825-981-1
  8. ↑ "Pteromylaeus bovinus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Manta birostris (Walbaum, 1792)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "Mobula japanica (Müller & Henle, 1841)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "Anacanthobatis marmorata (von Bonde & Swart, 1923)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "Cruriraja triangularis Smith, 1964". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  13. ↑ "Raja robertsi Hulley, 1970". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "Raja pullopunctata Smith, 1964". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Raja springeri Wallace, 1967". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Raja wallacei Hulley, 1970". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  17. ↑ "Raja spinacidermis Barnard, 1923". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  18. ↑ "Raja confundens Hulley, 1970". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "Raja caudaspinosa von Bonde & Swart, 1923". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  20. ↑ "Raja dissimilis Hulley, 1970". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  21. ↑ "Raja leopardus von Bonde & Swart, 1923". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  22. ↑ "Raja ravidula Hulley, 1970". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  23. ↑ "Pristidae Bonaparte, 1835". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  24. ↑ "Rhinobatos annulatus Müller & Henle, 184". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  25. ↑ "Rhinobatos leucospilus Norman, 1926". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  26. ↑ "Rhinobatos ocellatus Norman, 1926". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  27. ↑ Compagno, Leonard; Phillip Heemstra (May 2007). "Electrolux addisoni, a new genus and species of electric ray from the east coast of South Africa (Rajiformes: Torpedinoidei: Narkidae), with a review of torpedinoid taxonomy". Smithiana, Publications in Aquatic Biodiversity. The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. 7: 15–49. ISSN   1684-4130 . Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  28. ↑ "Torpedo nobiliana Bonaparte, 1835". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  29. ↑ "Poroderma marleyi Fowler, 1934". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  30. ↑ "Hexanchus vitulus Springer & Waller, 1969". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  31. ↑ "Nebrius concolor Rüppell, 1837". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  32. ↑ "Stegostoma fasciatum (Hermann, 1783)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  33. ↑ "Centrophorus scalpratus McCulloch, 1915". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  34. ↑ "Scymnorhinus licha (Bonnaterre, 1788)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  35. ↑ "Centroscymnus obscurus Vaillant, 1888". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 7 November 2023.
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