On some biogeographic interesting fishes from the South Orkney Islands

The ichthyofauna of the South Orkney Islands is not as well known as that of other areas in which the international scientific community has shown greater interest. The Instituto Espanol de Oceanografia organized the 'Antartida 9101' expedition in order to fill this gap and to evaluate the fishing resources of the continental shelf of these islands. This article is based on the study of part of the material collected during the 'Antardia 9101' expedition, and makes reference to 13 species caught off the South Orkney Islands at a depth of between 80 and 510 m during the summer of 1991. The 13 species are the following: Scopelosaurus hamiltoni (Waite, 1916); Paraliparis trilobodon Andriashev and Neyelov, 1979; Popgonophryne phyllopogon Andriashev, 1967; Artedidraco scottsbergi Lonnberg, 1905; Harpagifer spinosus Hurea, Louis, Tomo and Ozouf, 1980; Aethotaxis mitopteryx DeWitt, 1962; Trematomus eulepidotus Regan, 1914; T. tokarevi Andriashev, 1967; T. newnesi Boulenger, 1902; T. hansoni Boulenger, 1902; T. vicarius Lonnberg, 1905; T. nicolai (Boulenger, 1902) and Trematomus sp. The majority of these species have not a special biogeographic interest, because they have been previously mentioned in the South Orkney Islands.