Background: For the first time, almost half a century after its discovery and description, the poorly known endemic gobiid fish Chriolepis lepidota was seen alive at Malpelo Island. Methods: During a 12-day expedition on March 2017, 18 specimens of this species were observed and photographed at different depths by means of SCUBA diving. Results: Species maximum size and habitat preference are herein documented.Conclusions: This sighting represents the first record of the species in the wild. Also, this report increases our knowledge on the ecology and biology of an unknown species.
Among the eight species of the genus Sphoeroides (family Tetraodontidae) that inhabit the Tropical Eastern Pacific only Sphoeroides lobatus has been reported in more than onegroup of oceanic islands: Galápagos, Revillagigedo and Isla del Coco. This work presents the first documented record of the longnose puffer (S. lobatus) at Malpelo Island, Colombian Pacific.
The fishes of the family Tripterygidae are commonly known as triplefins because its dorsal fin is divided into three segments. Of the 183 species recognized as valid only 16 are distributed in the eastern Pacific. Two endemic species and only members of the family are found in the FFS Malpelo Island: Axoclinus rubinoffi y Lepidonectes bimaculatus. In this work, additional data are provided on the adults and larvae of the triplefins of the sanctuary. The mean abundances of the larvae were 1,88 individuals/m2
for A. rubinoffi and 0.25 individuals/m2 for L. bimaculatus at the night stations where they were collected, 0.8 and 1.61 km to the west of the island and very close specifically on El Arrecife and La Nevera. The adults were collected around the island between 0-30 m depth and the abundance was 0.22 individuals/m2 for L. bimaculatus and 0.19 individuals/m2 for A. rubinoffi. The natural variability of the morphological traits of both
species is extended and differences between the population densities with previous studies are found. To really understand the population dynamics of these species, it is necessary to evaluate long time series and include other methods such as genetic information.
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