Two New Records of Upeneus Spottocaudalis and U. Sundaicus (Perciformes: Mullidae) from the Northern South China Sea Based on the Morphology and DNA Barcoding

Luo, Zhisen; Yi, Mu-Rong; Qiu, Kangwen; Liu, Sibiao; Gu, Sijia; Yan, Yunrong

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-789149/v1

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Upeneus sundaicus is reported in 20 countries/territories, and Upeneus guttatus is reported in 21 countries or territories (Froese & Pauly, 2022). In the proximity of Hong Kong, Upeneus sundaicus is recorded in Ha Long Bay and Zhanjiang (Pavlov, 2016;Luo et al, 2021). Upeneus guttatus is recorded in Kagoshima and the Philippines (Uiblein & Heemstra, 2010;Motomura et al, 2012).…”

Section: Upeneus Species Family: Mullidaementioning

confidence: 99%

Thirty-one new records of reef fish species for Hong Kong waters

Chung

See²,

Lam³

et al. 2023

J. Mar. Biol. Ass.

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The implementation of consistent and continuous biodiversity survey efforts over a long period of time is imperative to the examination of temporal diversity patterns and the evaluation of existing conservation measures' effectiveness. In Hong Kong, a marine biodiversity hotspot in the South China Sea, reef fish diversity has been poorly documented due to inconsistent and sparse biodiversity surveys, posing considerable challenges to long-term monitoring of biodiversity dynamics. To fill in the data gap, regular scuba underwater visual surveys were conducted across 55 dive sites in Hong Kong during the wet seasons from 2018–2021. After ~3171 hours of underwater survey, 31 reef fish species from 14 families that are new to Hong Kong have been recorded, including species from Acanthuridae, Chaetodontidae, Diodontidae, Gobiidae, Labridae, Mullidae, Nemipteridae, Pinguipedidae, Pomacanthidae, Pomacentridae, Ptereleotridae, Solenostomidae, Tetraodontidae and Tetrarogidae. As Hong Kong sits within the natural distribution range of the newly recorded species, the possibility of artificial release was eliminated after careful consideration. These species were all found outside the currently established Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Hong Kong, indicating the need for comprehensive research to identify potential marine reef fish hotspots in areas that are unprotected thus far. Our findings demonstrate the need to establish a long-term monitoring programme that can fill in data gaps of local marine biodiversity to enable the establishment of effective MPAs, and to lay down a baseline for future research and monitoring, so as to safeguard Hong Kong's marine biodiversity in the long term.

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