Extension of the distributional range of the silver porgy, Diplodus argenteus (Valenciennes 1830), and the red porgy, Pagrus pagrus (Linnaeus 1758) (Sparidae) in northern Patagonia, south-western Atlantic

GALVAN D. E.; VENERUS L. A.; IRIGOYEN A. J.; PARMA A. M.; GOSZTONYI A. E.

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ICHTHYOLOGY-ZEITSCHRIFT FUR ANGEWANDTE ICHTHYOLOGIE

Blackwell Verlag

Año: 2005 vol. 21 p. 444 - 447

0175-8659

The family Sparidae contains 35 genera and 112 species, distributed mainly in tropical and  temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Two of these species inhabit the Argentine continental shelf: the silver porgy, Diplodus argenteus (Valenciennes 1830), and the red porgy, Pagrus pagrus (Linnaeus 1758). The presence of D. argenteus in the western Atlantic has been reported from southern Florida, USA to the northern San Matiás Gulf (SMG; approximately 41ºS), Argentina . Pagrus pagrus inhabits the coasts of the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean. In the western Atlantic, it was cited from New York, USA, to the northern SMG, Argentina . In Argentina, P. pagrus sustains a commercial fishery, with landings that have oscillated between approximately 600 and 2700 tonnes over the past decade (SAGPyA-DNPyA, 2003). This species has been included as endangered in the IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2002), mainly because of overexploitation of the stocks in the southeast of the USA . Both species sustain recreational activities and are targeted by sport divers and spear-fishers. Here, we report the presence of D. argenteus and P. pagrus in coastal rocky reefs of southern SMG, San Jose´ Gulf (SJG) and Nuevo Gulf (NG) (Chubut, Argentina, Fig. 1), extending both species distributions to 43º S, at least 200 km south of their previously reported range.