An annotated checklist of the fishes of Clipperton atoll, tropical eastern Pacific

Clipperton Atoll is the most isolated, most westerly and largest coral reef in the tropical eastern Pacific (TEP). We collected and recorded fishes to depths of 60m during a two week visit in April 1994. Previous collections were made late last century and by expeditions from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1956 and 1958. One hundred and fifteen identified species from 89 genera and 43 families are now known from the island. The most speciose families present at the island are moray eels (Muraenidae, 14 species), jacks (Carangidae, 11 species), wrasses (Labridae, 8 species), surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae, 8 species), squirrelfishes (Holocentridae, 5 species), groupers (Serranidae, 5 species), and triggerfishes (Balistidae, 5 species). These represent similar to 14% of the TEP nearshore fish fauna and 40% of its genera. The 115 species include 14 offshore pelagic species, 22 inshore pelagic and midwater. species, 70 demersal species that live on hard reef substrata, and nine demersal species that live in or feed on unconsolidated substrata (rubble and sand). Among the 101 non-oceanic species, 68% are carnivores on mobile organisms, 9.2% feed on sessile benthic invertebrates, 12.9% are planktivorous, and 17.8% are benthic feeding herbivores. At least 70 of the non-oceanic species appear to have resident (i.e. self sustaining) populations at the atoll, while 17 species probably are vagrants. Clipperton's fishes include 63 transpacific species (i.e. species that also occur on the western side of the Eastern Pacific Barrier) and 52 species endemic to the TEP. While most (36) of the TEP species occur throughout the region, four occur only at boh Clipperton and the Revillagigedos, the nearest shoal habitat, 950 km to the north. Nine species or subspecies from seven families are endemic to Clipperton. They represent 11.3% of Clipperton's demersal shorefishes. The sister species of one of them likely is a transpacific species, while the sister species of the other eight likely are TEP species.