FIRST REPORTED RECORDS OF PRIONURUS LATICLAVIUS (PERCIFORMES: ACANTHURIDAE) FROM THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA

摘要

Seven species of surgeon fish inhabit the tropical eastern Pacific (TEP). From these, only five species have been reported from Mexico (other than the offshore islands): Acanthurus achilles Shaw 1803; Acanthurus nigricans (Linnaeus, 1758); Acanthur-us triostegus (Linnaeus, 1758); Acanthurus xanthopterus Valenciennes, 1835; and Prionurus punctatus Gill, 1862 (Allen and Robertson, 1994). The razor surgeonfish, Prionurus laticlavlus (Valenciennes, 1846), the only other member of the genus in the TEP, has a confirmed range from Costa Rica to as far south as Ecuador, including offshore islands (Galapagos, Malpelo, Cocos, and Revillagigedo; Grove and Laven-berg, 1997; Robertson and Allen, 2002). Similar in appearance to P. punctatus, P. laticlavius can be distinguished by the lack of the numerous black spots. The razor surgeonfish is a reef-associated species that inhabits shallow waters, forming large schools at a depth range of 3-30 m. Here we report the first observations of the establishment of a razor surgeonfish population in the southern Gulf of California.