6
J.T. Eastman and A. Clarke
endemic, with 88% of the species confined to the Antarctic Region south
of the Polar Front. If just notothenioids are considered, species endemism
rises to 97% [20]. The major component of the fauna, that of the shelf and
upper slope (Table 2), is represented by only 208 species and is unusual
among marine habitats in containing radiations of two unrelated lineages,
namely perciform notothenioids in shallower habitats and scorpaeniform
liparids in deeper waters.
Table 2. Dominant families of benthic fishes inhabiting the continental shelf and upper
continental slope of the Antarctic Region
Taxon"
No. of species b
Myxinidae (hagfishes)
Petromyzontidae (lampreys)
Rajidae (skates)
8
Carapidae (pearlfishes)
Moridae (deepsea cods)
4
Muraenolepididae (eel cads)
4
Gadidae (cods)
Congiopodidae (horsefishes)
Liparidae (snailfishes)
64
Zoarcidae (eelpouts)
23
Notothenioidei (includes six Antarctic families C ) 95
Tripterygiidae (triplefins)
Achiropsettidae (southern flounders)
4
TOTALS
208
"Phylogenetic sequence according to [21].
"Based on [19] with these exceptions: addition of two new nototheniids from
Balushkin [22, 23], a number ofliparids from Andriashev and Stein [4] and
of zoarcids from Anderson [24].
cBalushkin (25).
Percentage
0.5
0.5
3.8
0.5
1.9
1.9
0.5
0.5
30.8
11.0
45.7
0.5
1.9
100.0%
J.T. Eastman and A. Clarke
endemic, with 88% of the species confined to the Antarctic Region south
of the Polar Front. If just notothenioids are considered, species endemism
rises to 97% [20]. The major component of the fauna, that of the shelf and
upper slope (Table 2), is represented by only 208 species and is unusual
among marine habitats in containing radiations of two unrelated lineages,
namely perciform notothenioids in shallower habitats and scorpaeniform
liparids in deeper waters.
Table 2. Dominant families of benthic fishes inhabiting the continental shelf and upper
continental slope of the Antarctic Region
Taxon"
No. of species b
Myxinidae (hagfishes)
Petromyzontidae (lampreys)
Rajidae (skates)
8
Carapidae (pearlfishes)
Moridae (deepsea cods)
4
Muraenolepididae (eel cads)
4
Gadidae (cods)
Congiopodidae (horsefishes)
Liparidae (snailfishes)
64
Zoarcidae (eelpouts)
23
Notothenioidei (includes six Antarctic families C ) 95
Tripterygiidae (triplefins)
Achiropsettidae (southern flounders)
4
TOTALS
208
"Phylogenetic sequence according to [21].
"Based on [19] with these exceptions: addition of two new nototheniids from
Balushkin [22, 23], a number ofliparids from Andriashev and Stein [4] and
of zoarcids from Anderson [24].
cBalushkin (25).
Percentage
0.5
0.5
3.8
0.5
1.9
1.9
0.5
0.5
30.8
11.0
45.7
0.5
1.9
100.0%