Checklist of the shore and Epipegagic Fishes of Tonga

Abstract

A checklist is given below of 1162 species of shore and epipelagic fishes belonging to 111 families that occur in the islands of Tonga, South Pacific Ocean; 40 of these are epipelagic species. As might be expected, the fish fauna of Tonga is most similar to those of Samoa and Fiji; at least 658 species of the fishes found in Tonga are also known from Fiji and the islands of Samoa. Twelve species of shore fishes are presently known only from Tonga. Specimens of Tongan fishes are housed mainly in the fish collections of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C.; Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu; Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris; and the Australian Museum, Sydney. Native Tongan names of fishes, when known, are presented after species names.