Checklist and new records of coastal-marine fishes of the Department of Atlántico (Colombian Caribbean)

Abstract

This first checklist of coastal marine fish inhabiting the Department of Atlántico (Colombian Caribbean) was compiled through an exhaustive review of published information, databases, other unpublished sources, and primary data. We recorded 272 fish species, of which twenty were first reported for this region. Carangidae, Lutjanidae, and Scombridae were the richest families, which together represent 14 % of the total number of species. According to the Red List of Marine Fishes of Colombia, 37 species show some degree of threat. Most species are demersal, associated with soft bottoms. However, a significant number of species were also found associated with hard substrates, suggesting that fish congregate around these less abundant substrates, as the coastline is mainly dominated by fine sediments. This study reveals that this region has higher fish richness than previously thought and highlights the need to carry out further studies to increase the knowledge of the ichthyofauna, framed in the environmental setting of the Department's coastal zone and the anthropogenic influence on the group in question. Better knowledge of the richness of ichthyic species contributes indirectly to the improvement of current management plans for marine biodiversity conservation.