Resource Description: NODC Accession Number 0001486
The list was compiled almost entirely from the literature. Unpublished records based on specimens were added for a few species in NMFS collections and other unpublished records obtained from researchers elsewhere are from personal communications. The list was initially compiled by consulting major reviews of Hawaii's fish fauna: Jordan & Evermann (1905), Gilbert (1905), Gosline & Brock (1960), Struhsaker (1973a), Randall (1976a, 1980a), Tinker (1982), Springer (1982), and Humphreys et al. (1984). Information was subsequently incorporated from other major summaries of the fauna published as the list was compiled (i.e. Uchida & Uchiyama, 1986; Borets, 1986; Hoover, 1993; Randall et al., 1993a,b; Hoover, 1993, 1994, 2003; Chave & Mundy, 1994; Randall, 1996a). The primary literature was consulted for fish families included in those summaries to obtain records of other species and to confirm the occurrence and taxonomic status of species in the reviews. The checklist includes records and taxonomic changes published before March 1, 2002. The region of coverage for the list is the 200-nmi Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Hawaiian Islands. It includes all fish species taken within a 200-nmi radius of the emergent land masses of the State of Hawai'i. Thus, it includes records from all waters within this radius from the "Big Island" of Hawai'i north past Kure Atoll. Several seamounts north of Kure Atoll, including the extensively sampled Hancock Seamounts, are included within this radius. The undersea volcano Lo'ihi south of the island of Hawai'i, is also included. The geological feature extending from Lo'ihi Seamount through the Hancock Seamounts is the "Hawaiian Ridge". Colahan Seamount is the northernmost feature of the Hawaiian Ridge, but it is outside of the 200-nmi EEZ. The nomenclature and locations of the Emperor Seamounts were taken from Clague et al. (1980). The nomenclature and locations of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and adjacent undersea features of the Hawaiian Ridge were taken from Uchida & Uchiyama (1986). Higher taxa in this list, through the subfamily or tribe level, are arranged following the format of Nelson (1994) except where noted. Spellings of these taxa may differ from Nelson (1994) as suggested by other studies. Taxa at the ordinal level and lower are identified by their conventional suffixes in ichthyology: "-iformes" for order, "-oidei" for suborder, "-idae" for family, "-inae" for subfamily, and "-ini" for tribe. Genera and species are arranged alphabetically within their families, subfamilies, or tribes. Citations of species descriptions may be obtained from Eschmeyer (1998; http://www.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/) or the taxonomic references given for each species. For most references, years of publication are those given in Eschmeyer (1998).
The format consists of the following records (lines) for each species: Species number = consecutive numbers assigned to each species in the order in which they are presented. Species = the species name considered valid in recent taxonomic literature. Publication dates and authorship of species names are from Eschmeyer (1998) except for the Amphioxiformes from Poss & Boschung (1996) and a few other species as noted in the text. Family = the family to which the species is assigned according to Nelson (1994). Status = the best determination available as to whether the species is endemic (found only in Hawai'i), indigenous (occurring in Hawai'i naturally but also found naturally elsewhere), successfully introduced (with a reproducing population in the region), or unsuccessfully introduced (released at one or more times but without a naturally reproducing population in the region). Southeastern and Northwestern Hawaiian records = the southeastern-northwestern extent of the species' distribution along the Hawaiian Ridge. Locations are given as islands or seamounts, on the assumption that for most species too little sampling has been done to define the ranges on a finer scale. In many instances, O'ahu is given as a limit or only location of occurrence. It should be recognized that this is an artifact of sampling. Most collecting in Hawai'i has taken place around O'ahu, including the sampling by Jordan & Evermann (1905) much of which was at the Honolulu fish market. Records from fish market sampling by Jordan & Evermann (1905) are recorded as from O'ahu even though many of the fish there may have been taken elsewhere. Many readers will know that numerous species have broader ranges in the Hawaiian Islands than are given here, but without published records this information could not be incorporated into this list. It is hoped that future publications will better document the ranges of the common fishes of the Hawaiian Islands. Notes = comments about problems with taxonomy or ranges of species that make their status in the region uncertain."