NOTAS SOBRE LA DISTRIBUCIÓN DE ALGUNAS ESPECIES DE PECES MARINOS DE BAJA CALIFORNIA, MÉXICO

Víctor M. Cota-Gómez, José De La Cruz-Agüero and Marcial Arellano Martínez

Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias marinas, Colección Ictiológica. Apartado Postal 592 La Paz, Baja California Sur, México 23000. E- mail: jcruz@vmredipn.ipn.mx (J.C.-A.)

RESUMEN

Se presenta el registro de ampliación de ámbito geográfico de cuatro especies de peces marinos del Pacífico oriental tropical mexicano: Anisotremus interruptus; Gymnura crebripunctata; Narcine entendedor y Sphoeroides lispus.

The four fishes listed in this note, whose appearance on the coast of southern Baja California represent geographic range extensions, also establish definite zoogeographical boundaries. Recently, the geographical distribution of the some marine fishes in the tropical eastern Pacific is apparently not well known or in some places has not been throughly investigated (Allen and Robertson, 1994). Therefore, present information is intended as a contribution to its understanding, keeping records up to date and sheding light on fish distribution, which is essential to sustain taxonomic studies, establish the significance of climatic changes and facilitate biogeographic analyses. All of the specimens reported here have been collected by personnel of the ichthyological collection of Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR-IPN) at La Paz, Baja California Sur, México. The accounts are presented in alphabetical order by family and the nomenclature follows Nelson (1994) and Allen and Robertson (1994). Length is given in millimeters of standard length (SL), total length (TL) or width of disc (WD), depending on body form. Limits and names of zoogeographic regions and provinces are based on Briggs (1974). All fish are deposited in the ichthyological collection at CICIMAR-IPN (CICIMAR-CI series).

Anisotremus interruptus (Gill, 1862). (Haemulidae). A single burrito (231 SL) was taken in Puerto Viejo, Baja California (Scammon Lagoon complex: 28°02'04"N and 114°07'W) on September 6, 1994. The specimen was caught with a speargun at 3 meters depth. The previous and well documented northern limit of its range was Bahía Magdalena, Baja California, México (24°45'N) and throughout the Golfo de California to Peru, including Galapagos Islands (Allen and Robertson, 1994; McKay and Schneider, 1995). The capture constitutes a northward extension of the range by more than 400 km, provides an exact geographic locality for a verified specimen (CICIMAR-CI 4126) and represents a new zoogeographical region and province for the species: California and San Diegan, respectively.

Gymnura crebripunctata Peters, 1869. (Gymnuridae). On October 1, 1995, a single butterfly ray was caught in Ensenada de La Paz, Baja California Sur (24°08'N and 110°21'W) in 1.2 meters of water using a beach seine. McEachran (1995) cited the northern limit of G. crebripunctata as a mainland locality near Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, and extended its new range to Panama (Mexican and Panamian provinces). However, the exact distribution range for this species is uncertain, as well as without verified records of its ocurrence within this range (J. D. McEachran, pers. comm. 1997). The collected specimen was a male (433 WD and 293 TL), and its occurrence seems noteworthy because this species is not very common. In fact, it is the first record on the western Golfo de California (Cortez province). The capture represents a northward extension of the previously known range by about 400 km, establishing an exact geographic locality for a verified specimen (CICIMAR-CI 4527).

Narcine entemedor Jordan and Starks, 1895. (Narcinidae). The lesser electric ray was previously known only from south-central Baja California to Panama. Fitch (1952) records the nothernmost range in San Juanico Bay, Baja California (26°N). During a collecting trip on July 21, 1994 to Scammon Lagoon complex in Baja California (28°N), we captured a specimen of N. entemedor (793 TL) in a four-inch mesh gill net at 8 km NW Las Aguilas (27°46'17"N and 114°11'17"W). The gill net had been set overnight, in 6 meters of water. The capture of this species extends the known range northward over 300 km into the San Diegan province (CICIMAR-CI 4354).

Sphoeroides lispus Walker, 1996. (Tetraodontidae). Between July , 1994, and January, 1995, one hundred thirty-six smooth puffers were caught in Scammon and Guerrero Negro Lagoons (27°39'N to 28°03'N). These fish were captured by beach seine, speargun and cast net, and ranged in size from 12 to 352 mm TL. Sphoeroides lispus was recently described in Walker and Bussing (1996), and, according to them, the geographical range of the smooth puffer goes from Bahia Magdalena to Golfo de California. Our specimens extend the previously known northern range of S. lispus by more than 400 km (CICIMAR-CI 4296, 4297, 4301, 4303 and others). In addition our record represent a new zoogeographical distribution for the smooth puffer similar to that of A. interruptus.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Dirección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación (DEPI-IPN) has supported the field and curatorial work for last three years (1994-1995). The second author also thanks the COFAA-IPN and CONACYT, for their support. The third author thanks the fellowships of CONACYT and PIFI. Dr. Ellis Glazier helped with the English translation. Dr. W. Bussing and an anonymous reviewer made suggestions that improved this manuscript.

1 Allen, G. R. and D. R. Robertson. 1994. Fishes of the tropical eastern Pacific. Crawford House Press. Honolulu, Hawaii, 332 p.         [ Links ]

2 Briggs, J. C. 1974. Marine zoogeography. McGraw-Hill, New York, 475 p.        [ Links ]

3 Fitch, J. E. 1952. Distributional notes on some Pacific coast marine fishes. Calif. Fish and Game, 38(4): 557-564.        [ Links ]

4 McEachran, J. D. 1995. Gymnuridae: 756-758. En: Fischer, W., F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K. E. Carpenter and V. H. Niem (Eds.): Guía FAO para la identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Pacífico centro-oriental. FAO, Roma, Italia.        [ Links ]

5 McKay, R. J. and Schneider, M. Haemulidae: 1136-1173. En: Fischer, W., F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K. E. Carpenter and V. H. Niem (Eds.): Guía FAO para la identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Pacífico centro-oriental. FAO, Roma, Italia.        [ Links ]

6 Nelson, J. S. 1994. Fishes of the world. Third edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 600 p.        [ Links ]

7 Walker, H. J. and W. A. Bussing. 1996. Two new pufferfishes of the genus Sphoeroides from the eastern pacific. Copeia, 3: 677-684.        [ Links ]

FECHA DE RECEPCIÓN: 04/07/97 FECHA DE ACEPTACIÓN: 24/02/98