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List of marine Perciform fishes of South Africa

This is a sub-list of the List of marine bony fishes of South Africa for perch-like fishes recorded from the oceans bordering South Africa. This list comprises locally used common names, currently accepted 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. Internationally used common names may also be present where useful.

List ordering and taxonomy complies where possible with the current usage in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), 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. Synonyms should be listed where useful.

Suborder Cottoidei

Family: Psychrolutidae — Fatheads

Family: Liparidae — Snailfishes

  • Careproctus albescens Barnard, 1927 (off Cape Point)
  • Paraliparis australis Gilchrist, 1902 (off Cape Point)
  • Paraliparis copei Goode & Bean, 1896 (Northwest Atlantic, Azores and South Africa. off Cape Point)
  • Barnard's dwarf snailfish, Psednos micrurus Barnard, 1927, recorded as syn. Paraliparis micrurus (Barnard, 1927) (Cape of Good Hope, southern Indian Ocean and South Pacific)

Suborder Percophoidei

Family: Percophidae — Duckbills

Suborder Scorpaenoidei

Family: Apistidae

  • Bearded waspfish Apistus carinatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) (Natal northwards, coastal areas of Indo-West Pacific)

Family: Aploactinidae — Velvetfishes

  • Roughskin scorpionfish Cocotropus monacanthus (Gilchrist, 1906) (4 specimens from off Natal)
  • Crested scorpionfish Ptarmus jubatus (Smith, 1935) (Natal coast north to Porto Amelia, Mozambique)

Family: Bembridae

Family: Congiopodidae — Horsefishes

Family: Hoplichthyidae — Spiny flatheads

Family: Peristediidae — Armoured gurnards

Family: Platycephalidae — Flatheads

  • Crocodile flathead, Cociella crocodilus (Cuvier, 1829), recorded as syn. Cociella crocodila (Tilesius, 1812) (Durban northwards and from the Red Sea to Japan and Guadalcanal)
  • Spotfin flathead Cociella sp. (East London north to Madagascar and Oman)
  • Thorny flathead, Sorsogona portuguesa (Smith, 1953), recorded as syn. Grammoplites portuguesus (Smith, 1953) (Durban to Beira)
  • Large-scale flathead Onigocia oligolepis (Regan, 1908) (three specimens known from Natal)
  • Madagascar flathead, tentacled flathead Papilloculiceps longiceps (Ehrenberg, 1829) (Widespread from Durban north to the Red Sea)
  • Bartail flathead, Platycephalus indicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Cape Agulhas to Mozambique)(Widespread from Mossel bay northward to the Red Sea, and Japan and Australia)
  • Sand flathead, Sunagocia arenicola (Schultz, 1966), recorded as syn, Thysanophrys arenicola Schultz, 1966 (Natal north to Seychelles; Chagos archipelago; Indonesia, Australia, Philippines and Marshall Islands)
  • Quarterspined flathead Thysanophrys celebica (Bleeker, 1854) (Durban north to Zanzibar)
  • Longsnout flathead Thysanophrys chiltonae Schultz, 1966 (the Red Sea and Indo-West Pacific from northern Natal to Australia)
  • Fringelip flathead, Sunagocia otaitensis (Cuvier, 1829), recorded as syn. Thysanophrys otaitensis (Cuvier, 1829) (Natal north to Seychelles, and throughout tropical Indo-Pacific).

Family: Scorpaenidae

Subfamily: Caracanthinae — Coral crouchers

  • Spotted croucher Caracanthus madagascariensis (Guichenot, 1869) (Tropical western and central Indian ocean, south to Sodwana Bay)
  • Coral croucher Caracanthus unipinna (Gray, 1831) (Tropical waters throughout Indo-Pacific; reaches Sodwana bay)

Subfamily: Choradactylinae

Subfamily: Minoinae

  • Onestick stingfish Minous coccineus Alcock, 1890 (Durban, northwards; also in the Red Sea, Arabian sea and eastwards to gulf of Thailand)

Subfamily: Pteroinae

  • Shortfin turkeyfish Dendrochirus brachypterus (Cuvier, 1829) (Transkei north to the Red Sea and east to central Pacific)
  • Zebra turkeyfish Dendrochirus zebra (Cuvier, 1829) (off Durban; northwards to the Red Sea and eastwards to central Pacific)
  • Blackfoot firefish Parapterois heterura (Bleeker, 1856) (Natal and northwards across Indian ocean to western Pacific)
  • Broadbarred firefish Pterois antennata (Bloch, 1787) (KwaZulu-Natal northwards and to central Pacific)
  • Devil Firefish Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828) (Port Elizabeth northwards)(Port Alfred northwards to the Red Sea and eastern Indian ocean)
  • Deepwater firefish Pterois mombasae (Smith, 1957) (off Durban, Sri Lanka and New Guinea)
  • Radial firefish, clearfin lionfish, Pterois radiata Cuvier, 1829 (KwaZulu-Natal to Mozambique)(Sodwana Bay northwards and to central Pacific)
  • Plaintail firefish Pterois russelii Bennett, 1831 (Kwa-Zulu-Natal northward and to western Pacific)

Subfamily: Scorpaeninae

Family: Sebastidae

Family: Setarchidae

Family: Synanceiidae — Stonefish

  • Stonefish Synanceia verrucosa Bloch & Schneider, 1801(Red sea and Indo-Pacific south to Durban)

Family: Tetrarogidae — Waspfishes

Family: Triglidae — Gurnards

Suborder Serranoidei

Family: Serranidae — Rockcods (groupers) and seabasses

Subfamily: Anthiadinae

Subfamily: Epinephelinae

Subfamily: Grammistinae — Soapfishes and Podges

Subfamily: Serraninae

Suborder Uranoscopoidei

Family: Ammodytidae — Sandlances

Family: Pinguipedidae — Sandsmelts

Family: Uranoscopidae — Stargazers

Suborder Zoarcoidei

Family: Zoarcidae — Eelpouts

References