Checklist of conspicuous reef fishes of the Bahia de los Angeles region, Baja California Norte, Mexico, with comments on abundance and ecological biogeography

摘要

A first checklist of conspicuous reef fishes observed at 15 sites in the vicinity of Bahia de los Angeles from 2008 to 2010 is presented. A total of 70 species representing 31 families were observed. Species composition was similar to well studied regions in the southern Gulf of California, in that most species had distributions that span the Tropical Eastern Pacific but species endemic to Mexico or the Gulf of California ranked highest in relative abundance, frequency of occurrence, and mean density. Several species with temperate geographic distributions were more abundant and frequent than on reefs in the southern Gulf. Large-bodied, predatory species such as sharks and the Gulf Grouper, Mycteroperca jordani, were rare or absent.