Coastal fishes of the Kermadec Islands

Abstract

Fishes were observed and collected at the Kermadec Islands in 1984 and 1985. Five families and 16 species were newly recorded from the New Zealand region and a further 18 species were newly recorded from the Kermadec Islands. The number of coastal fishes known from the Kermadec Islands is now 112. Seventy‐seven coastal fish species were classified into five abundance classes at five Kermadec Islands localities; 27 showed north‐south abundance trends. Of the 112 Kermadec Islands species, 55% are found in temperate New Zealand, but only 20% are common there. The fish fauna at the Kermadec Islands has greater affinity with that at Lord Howe Island (64%) and also has significant links with Rapa and Easter Islands (both 22%) which are at similar latitudes in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Two (possibly three) coastal fish species are endemic to the Kermadec Islands.