Fishes of the families Blenniidae and Salariidae of the Western Indian Ocean
- Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Subjects: Blenniidae -- Indian Ocean
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14976 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018775 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 14
- Description: Blennioid fishes of the families Blenniidae and Salariidae are found in almost all seas. They are small, agile fishes of shallow water, most being intertidal. The body is normally naked, elongate; the pectoral and vertical fins well developed; the pelvics mostly reduced, the rays hidden in thick tissue, used as limbs for support of the body. Many species freely leave the water and are as agile as grasshoppers on land. I have found them virtually unaffected by underwater explosions, e.g. detonators, even close by, possibly because they have no air bladder. While some are sombre, many of these fishes are brilliantly coloured, those living in weed showing wide variation in colour on a basically similar pattern. While more abundant than in most tropical areas, none are of economic significance in the W. Indian Ocean. 67 species are described. All new species, and all others possible, including sexual dimorphs, have been figured, 24 in colour, and 53 monochrome illustrations, total 77. In the case of 4 species, neither specimens nor illustrations could be obtained. The locality from which each specimen illustrated came is given in each case. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
- Full Text:
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Subjects: Blenniidae -- Indian Ocean
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14976 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018775 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 14
- Description: Blennioid fishes of the families Blenniidae and Salariidae are found in almost all seas. They are small, agile fishes of shallow water, most being intertidal. The body is normally naked, elongate; the pectoral and vertical fins well developed; the pelvics mostly reduced, the rays hidden in thick tissue, used as limbs for support of the body. Many species freely leave the water and are as agile as grasshoppers on land. I have found them virtually unaffected by underwater explosions, e.g. detonators, even close by, possibly because they have no air bladder. While some are sombre, many of these fishes are brilliantly coloured, those living in weed showing wide variation in colour on a basically similar pattern. While more abundant than in most tropical areas, none are of economic significance in the W. Indian Ocean. 67 species are described. All new species, and all others possible, including sexual dimorphs, have been figured, 24 in colour, and 53 monochrome illustrations, total 77. In the case of 4 species, neither specimens nor illustrations could be obtained. The locality from which each specimen illustrated came is given in each case. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
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Fishes of the family Lethrinidae from the Western Indian Ocean
- Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Subjects: Lethrinidae -- Indian Ocean
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14979 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018778 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 17
- Description: Among the most difficult problems of the systematist are certain groups of tropical fishes, notably the Parrotfishes and the Lethrinidae, whose bright colours fade quickly after death. Both of these groups are especially abundant in the Indo-Pacific. The Parrotfishes are troublesome enough, but the species do tend to retain the same livery fairly constantly in life, and there are several features that provide well defined generic cleavage, as well as useful clues to species. The Lethrinidae are more difficult, having fewer variable features. Even dimensions, e.g. relative depth, are useful only when comparable stadia can be compared, as considerable general change in body shape may occur with growth. Under the water these are troublesome fishes to identify, as most species are camouflaged by an intricate pattern of cross bars, cloudy patches, and reticulations, which make them all look much alike. In addition, they are among the most wary of the reef fishes, and difficult to approach for close scrutiny. Fresh from the water, the concealing, darker, cross markings and reticulations usually fade within a few moments, and some species are not difficult to recognise, since just after death, colour and pattern are normally reasonably constant within one species, a few are almost constant, others show variation round a typical pattern. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
- Full Text:
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Subjects: Lethrinidae -- Indian Ocean
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14979 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018778 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 17
- Description: Among the most difficult problems of the systematist are certain groups of tropical fishes, notably the Parrotfishes and the Lethrinidae, whose bright colours fade quickly after death. Both of these groups are especially abundant in the Indo-Pacific. The Parrotfishes are troublesome enough, but the species do tend to retain the same livery fairly constantly in life, and there are several features that provide well defined generic cleavage, as well as useful clues to species. The Lethrinidae are more difficult, having fewer variable features. Even dimensions, e.g. relative depth, are useful only when comparable stadia can be compared, as considerable general change in body shape may occur with growth. Under the water these are troublesome fishes to identify, as most species are camouflaged by an intricate pattern of cross bars, cloudy patches, and reticulations, which make them all look much alike. In addition, they are among the most wary of the reef fishes, and difficult to approach for close scrutiny. Fresh from the water, the concealing, darker, cross markings and reticulations usually fade within a few moments, and some species are not difficult to recognise, since just after death, colour and pattern are normally reasonably constant within one species, a few are almost constant, others show variation round a typical pattern. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
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Gobioid fishes of the families Gobiidae, Periophthalmidae, Trypauchenidae, Taenioididae, and Kraemeriidae of the Western Indian Ocean
- Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Subjects: Gobiidae -- Indian Ocean
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14975 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018774 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 13
- Description: Much said in the introduction to the Eleotridae (Bulletin No. 11 of this series, July 1958) applies with equal force to this large and closely related family, the overwhelming majority of whose members are small to minute fishes of shallow water, embracing some of the smallest vertebrates in existence. Most are found in coastal areas, some in freshwater, others have penetrated to fairly deep water. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
- Full Text:
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Subjects: Gobiidae -- Indian Ocean
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14975 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018774 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 13
- Description: Much said in the introduction to the Eleotridae (Bulletin No. 11 of this series, July 1958) applies with equal force to this large and closely related family, the overwhelming majority of whose members are small to minute fishes of shallow water, embracing some of the smallest vertebrates in existence. Most are found in coastal areas, some in freshwater, others have penetrated to fairly deep water. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
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Serioline fishes (yellowtails: amberjacks) from the Western Indian Ocean
- Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Subjects: Seriola , Yellowtail
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14977 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018776 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 15
- Description: Among the most esteemed by the big game angler, these fishes are of world-wide distribution, and the various species (commonly named “Yellowtail” in South Africa), are all built on much the same plan, the caudal lunate, the dorsal and anal fins long and mostly low. All are powerful swimmers, presumably able to cover vast distances, and within each genus and subgenus the different species do not differ widely from one another. As a result, there has been a general tendency for systematists to identify species, even in remote parts, with those already known. The literature reveals astonishingly few detailed original descriptions of these fishes, and there has been a regrettable tendency merely to reproduce early illustrations that are technically good, rather than to provide originals of actual specimens, which has caused widespread confusion. Two genera are treated here, viz. Seriola Cuvier, 1817 and the monotypic Seriolina Wakiya, 1924; Zonichthys Swainson, 1839 is regarded as Atlantic only, while the pelagic monotypic Naucrates Rafinesque, 1810 is so well known as scarcely to need inclusion here. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
- Full Text:
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Subjects: Seriola , Yellowtail
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14977 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018776 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 15
- Description: Among the most esteemed by the big game angler, these fishes are of world-wide distribution, and the various species (commonly named “Yellowtail” in South Africa), are all built on much the same plan, the caudal lunate, the dorsal and anal fins long and mostly low. All are powerful swimmers, presumably able to cover vast distances, and within each genus and subgenus the different species do not differ widely from one another. As a result, there has been a general tendency for systematists to identify species, even in remote parts, with those already known. The literature reveals astonishingly few detailed original descriptions of these fishes, and there has been a regrettable tendency merely to reproduce early illustrations that are technically good, rather than to provide originals of actual specimens, which has caused widespread confusion. Two genera are treated here, viz. Seriola Cuvier, 1817 and the monotypic Seriolina Wakiya, 1924; Zonichthys Swainson, 1839 is regarded as Atlantic only, while the pelagic monotypic Naucrates Rafinesque, 1810 is so well known as scarcely to need inclusion here. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
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The fishes of the family Eleotridae in the Western Indian Ocean
- Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14973 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018772 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 11
- Description: Family Eleotridae - The Gobioid fishes are one of the major trials of ichthyologists, and when general regional collections are worked up, these fishes tend to be pushed aside, and are apparently often identified with some impatience by those not especially interested. It is not indeed uncommon for later workers to find several species in a bottle supposed to contain only one, or to find one and the same fish in the same collection labelled with different names. All this is understandable, for not only are there numerous species, but almost all are small to minute, so that accurate description and especially illustration are no light undertaking. In addition, they are generally covered with mucus, so that two exactly similar living specimens, preserved in different media, e.g. alcohol and formalin, can emerge looking so completely different, that the purely museum worker may be forgiven for considering them different species. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
- Full Text:
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14973 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018772 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 11
- Description: Family Eleotridae - The Gobioid fishes are one of the major trials of ichthyologists, and when general regional collections are worked up, these fishes tend to be pushed aside, and are apparently often identified with some impatience by those not especially interested. It is not indeed uncommon for later workers to find several species in a bottle supposed to contain only one, or to find one and the same fish in the same collection labelled with different names. All this is understandable, for not only are there numerous species, but almost all are small to minute, so that accurate description and especially illustration are no light undertaking. In addition, they are generally covered with mucus, so that two exactly similar living specimens, preserved in different media, e.g. alcohol and formalin, can emerge looking so completely different, that the purely museum worker may be forgiven for considering them different species. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
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The identity of Scarus gibbus Ruppell, 1828 and of other parrotfishes of the family Callyodontidae from the Red Sea and the Western Indian Ocean
- Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14978 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018777 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 16
- Description: Parrotfishes have long been one of the major problems of the taxonomist, largely as a result of classification based on preserved material. Workers such Bleeker, who handled fresh specimens, provided useful descriptions and at least passable illustrations of Parrotfishes. There has, in consequence, been a general tendency to use such names in preference to those of earlier workers, notably Lacepede and Valenciennes, most of whose descriptions, based on long dead specimens, not only lack accurate, or indeed any, illustration, but rarely contain critical diagnostic data. In consequence, the nomenclature has been in a state of utter chaos, and any worker privileged to travel and examine early type specimens incurs a good deal of responsibility, since the majority of other workers are usually not in a position to query his opinions about their identities. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
- Full Text:
- Authors: Smith, J.L.B. (James Leonard Brierley), 1897-1968
- Date: 1959
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:14978 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018777 , Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 16
- Description: Parrotfishes have long been one of the major problems of the taxonomist, largely as a result of classification based on preserved material. Workers such Bleeker, who handled fresh specimens, provided useful descriptions and at least passable illustrations of Parrotfishes. There has, in consequence, been a general tendency to use such names in preference to those of earlier workers, notably Lacepede and Valenciennes, most of whose descriptions, based on long dead specimens, not only lack accurate, or indeed any, illustration, but rarely contain critical diagnostic data. In consequence, the nomenclature has been in a state of utter chaos, and any worker privileged to travel and examine early type specimens incurs a good deal of responsibility, since the majority of other workers are usually not in a position to query his opinions about their identities. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
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