The Open Fish Science Journal

2009, 2 : 90-98
Published online 2009 December 16. DOI: 10.2174/1874401X00902010090
Publisher ID: TOFISHSJ-2-90

The Reef-fish Fauna of the Northern Patagonian Gulfs, Argentina, South-western Atlantic

David E. Galván , Leonardo A. Venerus and Alejo J. Irigoyen
Centro Nacional Patagónico (CONICET). Boulevard Brown 2915, (U9120ACF) Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina.

ABSTRACT

A checklist containing 29 species of reef fishes recorded at the gulfs San José and Nuevo in Argentina (~42º– 43ºS) is provided. The reef-fish assemblages of the San José and Nuevo gulfs are a mix of warm-temperate fauna from the South-western Atlantic Province, and cold-temperate species from the South-American Province; however, warm-temperate fishes dominated in both gulfs. The presence of the families Bovichtidae, Eleginopidae, Nototheniidae, Congiopodidae, Sebastidae and Moridae distinguished the Patagonian region from the rest of the Atlantic coast.

Keywords:

Reef-fish assemblages, Argentina, warm-temperate.