New records of Syngnathiform fishes (Teleostei: Syngnathiformes) from the Hadhramout coast, Gulf of Aden, Yemen

Abstract

Since the taxonomic work of A. Druzhinin in 1973, the number of valid fish species in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden remained almost unchanged, mainly due to lack of firmness and consistency in the conduct of scientific research. In order to confirm the scientific nomenclature of local fish, we conducted field follow-ups at landing and marketing sites throughout the Hadhramout coast, the Gulf of Aden. A review of all the previous studies and publications shows that some fish species have not been reported from the Gulf of Aden Gulf. Among these species, we collected three syngnathiform fishes including Trachyrhamphus bicoarctatus (Bleeker, 1857) and Hippocampus kelloggi Jordan & Snyder, 1901 from the family Syngnathidae, and Aeoliscus punctulatus (Bianconi, 1854) from the family Centriscidae. Here, we describe the detailed characteristics of these fishes, which are new records for the coast of Hadhramout, Gulf of Aden.