Abudefduf saxatilis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Triay-Portella, Raül, Pajuelo, José G., Manent, Pablo, Espino, Fernando, Ruiz-Díaz, Raquel, Lorenzo, José M. & González, José A., 2015, New records of non-indigenous fishes (Perciformes and Tetraodontiformes) from the Canary Islands (north-eastern Atlantic), Cybium 39 (3), pp. 163-174 : 168

Abudefduf saxatilis (Linnaeus, 1758) , sergeant-major

Material examined. – ICCM400 , one resting male, 125 mm TL, 98 mm SL, off La Laja Beach, 28°03’N 15°25’W, 15-24 m, 15 Feb. 2015, rocks with sand ( Fig. 2F ) .

Sightings and catches. – Twenty times, n> 310: dike Reina Sofía, 12 m over a bottom of 21 m of depth, rocky breakwater; off La Garita Beach, 28°00’N 15°22’W, 15-24 m, rocks with sand; off Las Canteras Beach’s sedimentary reef, 28°09’N 15°28’W, 6-7 m, large rocks with sand; off Baja de Melenara (= Melenara reef), 15-24 m, rocks with sand; off Risco Verde, 27°51’N 15°23’W, 5-8 m, vertical cliff; off El Cabrón Beach, 27°52’N 15°23’W, 8-10 m, vertical cliff; off the Port of Sardina del Norte, 28°09’N 15°41’W, 5-8 m, sand with rocks; around the Kalais (33 m, sand) and Arona (27-30 m, sand), shipwrecks, in the Bay of Las Palmas near the Port of Las Palmas; Baja de Jinámar (= Jinámar reef), 28°02’N 15° 22’W, an isolated rocky outcrop (an urchin-grazed barren) 1.5 km away from the coast at ca. 39 m of depth ( Fig. 3 ) .

Remarks. – A subtropical benthopelagic reef-associated species ( Allen, 1991), living from the shoreline to 20 m of depth ( Feitoza et al., 2003). Juveniles are common in tidal pools, while adults are found over shallow reef tops. Adults frequently form large feeding aggregations of up to several hundred individuals. Food items include algae, small crustaceans and fish, and various invertebrate larvae ( Emery, 1978). Adult males adopt a bluish ground colour when guarding eggs. Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding; eggs are demersal and adhere to the substrate ( Breder and Rosen, 1966). Maximum length published is 229 mm TL ( Claro, 1994). It seems to be primarily an amphi-Atlantic species. West Atlantic: from Canada ( Scott and Scott, 1988) to Uruguay, abundant on Caribbean reefs ( Allen, 1991). In the mid-Atlantic: Ascension Island ( Cadenat and Marchal, 1963; Wirtz et al., 2014). East Atlantic: from Senegal south to Angola, including the Cape Verde Islands ( Franca and Vasconcelos, 1962; Wirtz et al., 2013; Hanel and John, 2015), São Tomé and Príncipe Islands ( Osório, 1891; Afonso et al., 1999; Wirtz et al., 2007), Bioko Island, Annobón Island and other offshore islands ( Wirtz et al., 2007). Also reported at Madeira ( Freitas and Araújo, 2006; Wirtz et al., 2008) and Malta, central Mediterranean ( Deidun and Castriota, 2014). Foster and Willan (1979) reported this species from the western Pacific ( Solomon Islands), based on the observation of a couple of individuals adopted by a semisubmersible exploratory drilling platform in coastal waters of the Solomon Islands.

A. saxatilis was first reported from the Canaries by Brito (1991, as A. marginatus ) based on one individual caught at the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Brito et al. (2002) reported on one more individual sighted in a beach near that port.

Figures

Figure 2. - Non-native species introduced to the Canaries. A: Holocentrus adscensionis; B: Cephalopholis taeniops; C: Paranthias furcifer; D: Prognathodes marcellae; E: Abudefduf saxatilis; F: Abudefduf hoefleri; G: Acanthurus bahianus; H: Acanthurus coeruleus; I: Acanthurus chirurgus; J: Acanthurus monroviae; K: Cantherhines pullus. Scale bars = 5 cm.

Figure 3. - Collection locations for the new records from the Canaries. 1: Holocentrus adscensionis, 2: Cephalopholis taeniops, 3: Paranthias furcifer, 4: Prognathodes marcellae, 5: Abudefduf saxatilis, 6: Abudefduf hoefleri, 7: Acanthurus bahianus, 8: Acanthurus coeru- leus, 9: Acanthurus chirurgus, 10: Acanthurus monroviae, 11: Cantherhines pullus.