List of marine fishes of South Africa

This is a list of fishes recorded from the oceans bordering South Africa. 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.

Map of the Southern African coastline showing some of the landmarks referred to in species range statements

List ordering and taxonomy complies where possible with the current usage in Wikispecies, 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.

Fish are gill-bearing aquatic craniate animals that lack limbs with digits. They form a sister group to the tunicates, together forming the olfactores. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Around 99% of living fish species are ray-finned fish, belonging to the class Actinopterygii, with over 95% belonging to the teleost subgrouping.

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 communicate in their underwater environments through the use of acoustic communication. Acoustic communication in fish involves the transmission of acoustic signals from one individual of a species to another. The production of sounds as a means of communication among fish is most often used in the context of feeding, aggression or courtship behaviour. The sounds emitted by fish can vary depending on the species and stimulus involved. They can produce either stridulatory sounds by moving components of the skeletal system, or can produce non-stridulatory sounds by manipulating specialized organs such as the swimbladder.

Fish are abundant in most bodies of water. They can be found in nearly all aquatic environments, from high mountain streams (e.g., char and gudgeon) to the abyssal and even hadal depths of the deepest oceans (e.g., cusk-eels and snailfish), although no species has yet been documented in the deepest 25% of the ocean. With 34,300 described species, fish exhibit greater species diversity than any other group of vertebrates.

Fish are an important resource for humans worldwide, especially as food. Commercial and subsistence fishers hunt fish in wild fisheries or farm them in ponds or in cages in the ocean (in aquaculture). They are also caught by recreational fishers, kept as pets, raised by fishkeepers, and exhibited in public aquaria. Fish have had a role in culture through the ages, serving as deities, religious symbols, and as the subjects of art, books and movies.

Tetrapods emerged within lobe-finned fishes, so cladistically they are fish as well. However, traditionally fish are rendered paraphyletic by excluding the tetrapods (i.e., the amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals which all descended from within the same ancestry). Because in this manner the term "fish" is defined negatively as a paraphyletic group, it is not considered a formal taxonomic grouping in systematic biology, unless it is used in the cladistic sense, including tetrapods. The traditional term pisces (also ichthyes) is considered a typological, but not a phylogenetic classification. (Full article...)


Superclass Agnatha – Jawless fishes (Cyclostomes)

Order Myxiniformes – Hagfishes

Family: Myxinidae

  • Six-gill hagfish or snotslang Eptatretus hexatrema (Müller, 1834) (Walvis Bay to Durban)[1][2][3]
  • Eightgill hagfish Eptatretus octatrema Barnard, 1923 (Agulhas bank)[1]
  • Fivegill hagfish Eptatretus profundus Barnard, 1923 (off Cape Point)[1]
  • Cape hagfish Myxine capensis Regan, 1913 (Cape of Good Hope)[1]

Superclass Gnathostomata – Jawed fishes
Order Myliobatiformes – Stingrays

Superfamily: Myliobatoidea
Family: Gymnuridae

  • Japanese butterflyray Gymnura japonica (Temminck and Schlegel, 1850) (Agulhas bank)[1] (Identification provisional)
  • Backwater butterflyray Gymnura natalensis (Gilchrist and Thompson, 1911) (Mossel Bay to southern Mozambique)[1]

Family: Myliobatidae – Eagle rays

Family: Hexatrygonidae – Sixgill stingrays

Order Pristiformes – Sawfishes

Family: Pristidae – Sawfishes

  • Largetooth sawfish Pristis microdon Latham, 1794 (Natal to tropical Indo-West Pacific)[1]
  • Smalltooth sawfish Pristis pectinata Latham, 1794 (Port Alfred to Mozambique)[1][2]
  • Longcomb sawfish Pristis zijsron Bleeker, 1851 (Port Alfred to Indo-West Pacific)[1]
Order Rajiformes – Rays, skates and guitarfish

Superfamily: Dasyatoidea

Family: Dasyatidae – Stingrays

Superfamily: Rajoidea – Skates

Family: Rajidae – Skates

  • Anacanthobatis marmoratus von Bonde and Swart, 1923 (Durban to southern Mozambique)[1]
  • Bathyraja smithii (Müller & Henle, 1841) (Agulhas bank and west of Cape Town)[1]
  • Cruriraja durbanensis (von Bonde and Swart, 1923) (off Western Cape province)[1]
  • Cruriraja parcomaculata von Bonde and Swart, 1923 (Lüderitz to Durban)[1]
  • Cruriraja triangularis Smith, 1964 (Durban to Mozambique)[1]
  • Neoraja stehmanni (Hulley, 1972) (West of Cape Town to south of Agulha Bank)[1]
  • Raja caudaspinosa von Bonde and Swart, 1923 (Luderitz to Cape Point)[1]
  • Thornback skate Raja clavata Linnaeus, 1758 (Walvis Bay to Durban)[1]
  • Raja confundens Hulley, 1970 (West coast from 19°S to east of Cape Point)[1]
  • Raja dissimilis Hulley, 1970 (west of Cape Town)[1]
  • Raja leopardus von Bonde and Swart, 1923 (west coast from 18°S to 35°S)[1]
  • Twineye skate Raja miraletus Linnaeus, 1758 (False Bay to Durban)[1]
  • Raja pullopunctata Smith, 1964 (Luderitz to Mozambique)[1]
  • Raja ravidula Hulley, 1970 (off Cape Town)[1]
  • Raja robertsi Hulley, 1970 (west of Cape Town)[1]
  • Raja spinacidermis Barnard, 1923 (off west coast)[1]
  • Raja springeri Wallace, 1967 (Durban to Mozambique)[1]
  • Biscuit skate or False thornback skate Raja straelini (West Africa to East London)[1][3]
  • Blancmange skate Raja Wallacei Hulley, 1970 (Cape to Limpopo river mouth)[1]
  • Spearnose skate Rostroraja alba (Lacepède, 1803) (West Africa to Madagascar)[1][5] (syn. Raja alba)

Superfamily: Rhinobatoidea – Guitarfish (Sandsharks)

Family: Rhinobatidae – Guitarfish

  • Bowmouth guitarfish Rhina ancylostoma Bloch & Schneider, 1801 (KwaZulu-Natal to tropical Ind-West Pacific)[1][4]
  • Lesser sandshark or Lesser guitarfish Rhinobatos annulatus Smith in Müller & Henle, 1841 (Cape Columbine to Mozambique)[1][2][5]
  • Bluntnose guitarfish Rhinobatos blochii Müller & Henle, 1841 (Cape to Walvis Bay)[1]
  • Slender guitarfish Rhinobatos holcorhynchus Norman, 1922 (Port Shepstone to Zululand)[1]
  • Greyspot guitarfish Rhinobatos leucospilus Norman, 1926 (Durban to Amatikulu Bluff)[1][6]
  • Speckled guitarfish Rhinobatos ocellatus Norman, 1926 (Algoa Bay)[1]
  • Giant sandshark Rhynchobatus djiddensis (Forsskål, 1775) (Knysna to Mozambique)[1][2][4]
Order Torpediniformes – Electric rays

Family: Narkidae

  • Ornate torpedo ray Electrolux addisoni Compagno & Heemstra, 2007 (Coffee Bay, Eastern Cape Province, to just north of Durban, kwaZulu-Natal)[7]
  • Natal electric ray Heteronarce garmani Regan, 1921 (Algoa Bay to KwaZulu-Natal)[1]
  • Onefin electric ray or Torpedo ray Narke capensis (Gmelin, 1789) (Atlantic coast of Cape Peninsula to Madagascar)[1][3][5]

Family: Torpedinidae

Order Carcharhiniformes – Ground sharks

Family: Carcharhinidae – Requiem sharks

Family: Hemigaleidae

Family: Proscylliidae

  • Eridacnis sinuans (Smith, 1927) (Natal to Tanzania)[1]

Family: Scyliorhinidae – Catsharks

Family: Sphyrnidae – Hammerhead sharks

  • Scalloped hammerhead shark Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834) (East London to Mozambique)[2][4]
  • Great hammerhead Sphyrna mokarran (Rüppell, 1837) (Natal to tropical Indo-Pacific)[1][2]
  • Smooth hammerheadSphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus, 1758) (South Cape to southern Mozambique, occasionally on west coast. Warm temperate waters of both hemispheres)[1][2]

Family: Triakidae – Houndsharks


Order Hexanchiformes – Cow and frill sharks

Family: Hexanchidae – Cow sharks

Order Lamniformes – Mackerel sharks

Family: Alopiidae – Thresher sharks

Family: Cetorhinidae – Basking sharks

  • Basking shark Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765) (Temperate waters of all oceans, a few records from south-western Cape)[1]

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: Echinorhinidae – Bramble sharks

Family: Squalidae – Dogfishes

Order Squatiniformes – Angelsharks

Family: Squatinidae

Order Chimaeriformes

Family: Callorhinchidae – Elephantfish

Family: Chimaeridae – Chimaeras

Family: Rhinochimaeridae – Longnose chimaeras

Superclass Osteichthyes – Bony fishes

See article List of marine bony fishes of South Africa

References
  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. Jones, Georgina. A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula. SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ISBN 978-0-620-41639-9
  4. King, Dennis., and Fraser, Valda. More reef fishes and nudibranchs. Struik, Cape Town, 2001. ISBN 1-86872-686-X
  5. 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. King, Dennis. Reef fishes and corals: East coast of southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town, 1996. ISBN 1-86825-981-1
  7. 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.
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