Checklist of the Fishes of the Chesterfield Islands (Coral Sea)

Abstract

The fish of the Chesterfield islands, a region midway between the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and New Caledonia, have been sampled during several cruises by ORTSTOM between 1984 and 1989. Information from these cruises and other sources are compiled into the first fish checklist of this region. A total of 866 taxa, representing 134 families, are recorded. 134 taxa are identified to the genus level, of which 58 could be new to science. This fish fauna of the Chesterfield islands has closer affinities with that of New Caledonia than to the GBR. One notices also the low representation of several genera (Neopomacentrus, Colopsis, Siganus, Abudefduf) which are abundant in both New Caledonia and on the GBR.