New fish species added to the ichthyofauna of Laguna Ojo de Liebre, Baja California Sur, México

Abstract

The Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Scammon’s lagoon) is the iconic sanctuary of the Pacific gray whale and belongs to the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve in Baja California, México. From June 2015 to August 2016, six seasonal visits were conducted on the ichthyofauna in seven sites of the lagoon. By diving, trapping, hook & line, and gillnet commercial fishing, a total number of 39 fish species was identified belonging to 25 families. In this study a total number of eight fish species is added to the first two existing 20-year-old lists: the Gymnothorax mordax (Ayres, 1859), Apogon sp. Pomacanthus zonipectus (Gill, 1862), Balistes polylepis (Steindachner, 1876), Pareques viola (Gilbert 1898), Caranx sp., Sphoeroides lobatus (Steindachner, 1870), and the Icelinus sp. During 2015-2016, two anomalous events warmed the lagoon, and possibly, it contributed to the fish species movement from the adjacent tropical or subtropical zones. Ichthyofauna from Laguna Ojo de Liebre is reported here before the installation of reef modules as a refuge for red lobster and fish aggregation.