The Biodiversity of the South China Sea

Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research

Randall, J. E. & K. K. P. Lim (editors), 2000. A checklist of the fishes of the South China Sea. Raffles Bull. Zool., Suppl. 8: 569-667.
© The National University of Singapore

 

A CHECKLIST OF THE FISHES OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

 EDITORS:

John E. Randall
Department of Zoology, Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, Hawaiíi, USA.

 Kelvin K. P. Lim
Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, Department of Biological Sciences, The National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge, Singapore 119260, Singapore.

ABSTRACT. - The South China Sea lies in the tropical zone of the western Pacific Ocean off the southeast corner of the Asian continent and covers a total area of about 3,400,000 square kilometers.  Some 3,365 species of marine fishes recorded from the area.  The inshore fishes may have been relatively well-studied, but the pelagic and deep sea fauna is not, as are small fishes which inhabit reefs at depths beyond the reach of SCUBA divers.  These deep sea habitats are identified as important areas for future exploration.