Pacific Plate Biogeography, with Special Reference to Shorefishes

NUMBER 367 43
EXOCOETIDAE
(not including Hemiramphidae)
There are about eight genera and perhaps as
many as 100 species-group taxa of flyingfishes, of
which the Indo-Pacific forms are most poorly
known systematically. The family is circumglobally
distributed and the species are epipelagic
and, in general, widely distributed. The young
are often taken inshore. Possibly five genera and
15 species occur nonmarginally on the Pacific
Plate.
FlSTULARIIDAE
The cornetfishes consist of a single, circumglobally
distributed genus, Fistularia, and four species.
The species are free swimming and attain a maximum
length of 1-2 m. Fritzsche (1976) revised
Fistularia and presented a distribution map for
the species. One species is restricted to the tropical
eastern Pacific and one to the tropical Atlantic
(both sides). One species occurs from the east
African coast to the tropical coasts of the eastern
Pacific. The fourth species, F. petimba, is almost
circumglobal and has an Hawaiian exception
distribution: both sides of the tropical Atlantic;
Indo-West Pacific from Madagascar to Japan,
Philippines, and Australia; and Hawaiian Islands
(only nonmarginal Pacific Plate occurrence). Although
Fistularia is not present in the Mediterranean,
it is reported from the Miocene of that
region (Arambourg, 1925).
FORMIONIDAE (= APOLECTIDAE)
There is but a single, monotypic genus in the
Formionidae, Apolectus (= Formio = Parastromateus),
a free-swimming fish probably not attaining
more than 300 mm TL, but occasionally
stated to reach 600 mm TL. Witzell (1978, fig. 8)
reported on the distribution of Apolectus, which
extends from eastern Africa eastward to Japan,
Philippines, and eastern Australia. Additionally,
Zama and Fujita (1977) give citations to the
occurrence of Apolectus in the Bonin, or Ogasa-
wara, Islands, adjacent to the margin of the Pacific
Plate, and Dor (1970), reported it from the
Red Sea. Reports of the occurrence of Apolectus in
Hawaii all appear to emanate from Matsubara
(1955:565). Matsubara's listing is probably in
error (see also Menidae). I know of no other
nonmarginal Pacific Plate record for Apolectus.
GERREIDAE
The mojarras are a family of small, free-swimming,
epibenthic fishes (maximum size about 400
mm TL) that are poorly known taxonomically.
There are about six genera and perhaps 40 species.
The species are primarily marine but often
enter brackish or freshwater, and are found on
the warm coasts of all oceans; however, they are
reported nonmarginally from the Pacific Plate
only from the Eastern Caroline, Gilbert, Ellice,
and Marshall islands (Fowler, 1928, 1931, 1934).
These records probably involve only species of
Genes. Randall (1973) discounts Jordan and
Seale's (1906) report of Genes argyreus (as Xystaema
argyreum) from Tahiti.
GlNGLYMOSTOMATIDAE
This family is discussed under the Orectolobidae.
GlRELLIDAE
The girellids are a small family containing one
or two genera and about 15 species of moderatesized
fishes (to about 625 mm TL and 8 kg) that
are absent from the Pacific Plate. These fishes are
questionably included here as a warm-water
group. The family is antiequatorially distributed,
and occurs on the coasts of Japan, China, southern
Australia (as far north as southern Queensland),
Lord Howe and Norfolk islands, New Zealand,
Easter Island, California to, and including,
the Gulf of California, Galapagos, Chile and its
offshore islands, Peru, and the Cape Verde and
Canary islands in the eastern Atlantic (D.F.
Hoese, in litt.). Lee and Chang (1981) reported