Allen & Robertson: Clipperton Atoll 835

Ostraciidae - Boxfishes

Ostracion meleagris Shaw, 1796
Ostracion meleagris Shaw, in Shaw and Nodder, 1796: Pl. 253 (South Pacific).
Ostracion clippertonense Snodgrass and Heller, 1905: 410 (Clipperton Island).
Ostracion lentiginosum.- Snodgrass and Heller, 1905: 410 (Clipperton Island).

Occasionally sighted on outer slope in 10- 25 m, mainly on NE side of island; juveniles and adults; diurnal benthic; solitary; omnivore: algae, polychaetes, sponges, tunicates, molluscs; spawns pelagic eggs; 15 cm SL; Indo-Pacific to the Americas; resident; specimens at USNM, LACM.

Tetraodontidae - Pufferfishes

Arothron meleagris (Bleeker, 1853)
Tetrodon meleagris Sleeker, 1853: 507 (Asia).
Tetraodon setosus.- Snodgrass and Heller, 1905: 413 (Clipperton Island).

Common on outer slope to 50 m depth; mainly medium to large adults, but a few large juveniles seen; diurnal benthic; solitary; omnivore: live corals (see Glynn et al, 1996), algae, sponges, worms, echinoderms, etc.; pelagic eggs; 28 cm SL; Indo-Pacific to the Americas; resident; specimens at USNM, SIO, LACM (as A. setosum).

Canthigaster punctatissima (Gunther, 1870)
Tetrodon punctatissimus Gunther, 1870: 302 (Panama).

Common on outer slope in 10-35 m; juveniles (including new recruits) and adults; diurnal benthic; solitary or in pairs; omnivore: algae and benthic invertebrates; spawns pelagic eggs; 6 cm SL; TEP, from Gulf of California to Panama, also Galapagos Islands; underwater photographs; 17 mm SL; resident; specimens at USNM, SIO, LACM.

Diodontidae - Porcupinefishes

Diodon holocanthus Linnaeus, 1758
Diodon holocanthus Linnaeus, 1758: 335 (India).

Rare, a few adults seen on NE side of island in 15 m depth; nocturnal benthic; solitary; carnivore: sea urchins, gastropods, crabs; pelagic eggs; 30 cm SL; circumtropical, widespread in the TEP, common in the Revillagigedo Islands in 1994; observed only; population status uncertain - because it is common on unconsolidated bottoms in Panama (DRR personal observations) it may occur on the "60m terrace"; specimens USNM.

Diodon hystrix Linnaeus, 1758
Diodon hystrix Linnaeus, 1758: 335 (India).

Rare, a few adults seen on outer slope in 15-20 m; nocturnal benthic; solitary; carnivore: sea urchins, gastropods, crabs; pelagic eggs; 80 cm SL; circumtropical, widespread in TEP, occasional in the Revillagigedo Islands in 1994; observed only; probable vagrant; specimen at LACM.

PROBABLE ERRONEOUS RECORDS

Serranidae
Epinephelus analogus Gill, 1864
Epinephelus analogus Gill 1864: 163 (west coast of America)
Epinephelus analogus.- Smith 1971: 149 (Clipperton Island)

This is a distinctive, shallow-living TEP species (Allen and Robertson, 1994, Fischer et al 1995). We did not see or collect it at Clipperton. The distribution map for E analogus in Smith (1971) includes Clipperton, based on a "literature record". However, the text contains citations for all records shown on the map, except for the one for Clipperton. The Clipperton record shown on the distribution map for this species in Fischer et al (1995) is probably based on the Smith (1971) reference (P. Heemstra, personal communication 1996). There are no Clipperton specimens in collections at the USNM, UCLA, LACM or SIO. Hence we regard Smith's (1971) Clipperton record as an error.