This is a sub-list of the List of marine fishes of South Africa for bony fishes recorded from the oceans bordering South Africa.
This list comprises locally used common names, scientific names

Binomial nomenclature

Binomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages...

 with author citation

Author citation (zoology)

In zoological nomenclature, author citation refers to listing the person who first makes a scientific name of a taxon available. This is done in a scientific publication while fulfilling the formal requirements under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, hereinafter termed "the Code"...

 and recorded ranges

Range (biology)

In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...

. Ranges specified may not be the entire known range for the species, but should include the known range within the waters surrounding the Republic of South Africa.

List ordering and taxonomy

Biological classification

Biological classification, or scientific classification in biology, is a method to group and categorize organisms by biological type, such as genus or species. Biological classification is part of scientific taxonomy....

 complies where possible with the current usage in Wikispecies

Wikispecies

Wikispecies is a wiki-based online project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aim is to create a comprehensive free content catalogue of all species and is directed at scientists, rather than at the general public...

, and may differ from the cited source, as listed citations are primarily for range or existence of records for the region.
Sub-taxa within any given Taxon

Taxon

|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...

 are arranged alphabetically as a general rule.
Details of each species may be available through the relevant internal links. Synonyms

Synonym (taxonomy)

In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...

 may be listed where useful.

Superorder Acanthopterygii

Acanthopterygii

Acanthopterygii is a superorder of bony fishes in the class Actinopterygii. Members of this superorder are also known as the ray-finned fishes for the characteristic sharp, bony rays in their fins; however this name is also often given to the class Actinopterygii as a whole.Orders:* Order...

 — Spiny finned fishes

See article List of marine spiny-finned fishes of South Africa

Order Clupeiformes

Clupeiformes

Clupeiformes is the order of ray-finned fish that includes the herring family, Clupeidae, and the anchovy family, Engraulidae. The group includes many of the most important food fish....

Family: Chirocentridae — Wolfherrings

• Wolfherring Chirocentrus dorab (Forsskål, 1775) (Durban to Mozambique)

Family: Clupeidae

Clupeidae

Clupeidae is the family of the herrings, shads, sardines, hilsa and menhadens. It includes many of the most important food fishes in the world.-Description and biology:...

 — Herrings, sardines and pilchards

• East coast roundherring Etrumeus teres (De Kay, 1842) (Durban to Mozambique border)
• Roundherring Etrumeus whiteheadi Wongratana, 1983 (Walvis Bay to KwaZulu-Natal)
• Estuarine roundherring Gilchristella aestuaria
  Gilchristella aestuaria
  Gilchristella aestuaria, the Gilchrist's round herring, is a member of the herring family Clupeidae that occurs along the coasts of Southern Africa. It is the only species in its genus....
  
  (Gilchrist, 1913) (Knysna to Kosi bay, Saldanha Bay and possibly north to Orange River mouth)
• Blueline herring Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus (Rüppell, 1837) (Algoa Bay to Indo-Pacific)
• Razorbelly or Kelee shadHilsa kelee
  Hilsa kelee
  Hilsa kelee, called the kelee shad, fivespot herring and the razorbelly, is a species of shad native to the coasts and estuaries of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, generally in tropical waters. It feeds on diatoms and dinoflagellates, and any other small plankton that it can trap in its...
  
  (Cuvier, 1829) (Transkei to Mozambique and Indo-Pacific)
• Gizzard shad Nematalosa nasus (Bloch, 1795) (off Durban Bay; Gulf of Aden to Hong Kong)
• Indian pellona Pellona ditchela
  Pellona ditchela
  Pellona ditchela, called the Indian pellona, ditchelee and the toothed shad, is a species of longfin herring native to the coasts, mangrove swamps, and estuaries of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, generally in tropical waters...
  
  Valenciennes 1847 (Durban to Indo-Pacific)
• White sardinelle Sardinella albella (Valenciennes 1847) (Durban to Indo-Pacific, possibly East London)
• Round sardinelle Sardinella aurita Valenciennes, 1847 (Walvis Bay to Saldanha Bay)
• Goldstripe sardinelle Sardinella gibbosa (Bleeker, 1849) (Port Alfred to Mozambique)
• Pilchard or Sardine Sardinops sagax (Jenyns, 1842) (Namibia to Mozambique)
• Delicate roundherring Spratelloides delicatulus
  Spratelloides delicatulus
  The Blue sprat, Spratelloides delicatulus, also known as the Delicate round herring or Blueback sprat, is a type of sprat fish of Indo-Pacific distribution....
  
  (Bennett, 1831) (Zululand to Indo-Pacific)

Family: Engraulidae — Anchovies

• Cape anchovy Engraulus japonicus Temminck & Schlegel, 1846 (Walvis Bay to Mozambique and Indo-Pacific)
• Thorny anchovy Stolephorus holodon (Boulenger, 1900) (Swartkops estuary to northern Mozambique)
• Indian anchovy Stolephorus indicus (van Hasselt, 1823) (Natal to Indo-Pacific)
• Buccaneer anchovy Stolephorus punctifer (Fowler, 1938) (St Lucia, possibly Durban, to Indo-Pacific to Hawaii)
• Longjaw glassnose Thryssa setirostris (Broussonet, 1782) (Transkei through Indian ocean to Indonesia and China)
• Orangemouth glassnose or Bony Thryssa vitrirostris (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908) (Port Elizabeth to Mozambique)
• Thryssa setirostris (Broussonet, 1782)

Order Aulopiformes

Aulopiformes

Aulopiformes is an order of marine ray-finned fish consisting of some 15 extant and several prehistoric families with about 45 genera and over 230 species. The common names grinners, lizardfishes and allies or aulopiforms are sometimes used for this group...

Suborder: Alepisauroidei


Family: Evermannellidae — Sabretooth fishes

• Coccorella atlantica (Parr, 1928) (central water areas of all 3 major oceans; off western and south-western Cape coast, 1 specimen from 31°34'S, 30°09'E)
• Evermanella balbo (Risso, 1820) (4 specimens fromm off southern Natal, presumed to be circumglobal in transition region of southern oceans)

Family: Paralepididae — Barracudinas (incl. Anotopteridae — Daggertooths)

• Anopterus pharao Zugmeyer, 1911 (off west coast; south of Cape Agulhas; off Transkei and in Mozambique channel; worldwide between 25°N and 65°S)
• Lestidiops jayakari (Boulenger, 1889) (worldwide in tropical to temperate waters)
• Lestidiops similis (Ege, 1933) (Tropical and temperate Atlantic between 45°N and 45°S)
• Lestidium Atlanticum (Borodin, 1928) (Tropical to subtropical all oceans)
• Lestrolepis intermedia (Poey, 1868) (Tropical in all oceans; off South Africa only in Agulhas current)
• Macroparalepis affinis Ege, 1933 (anti-tropical in Atlantic ocean)
• Macroparalepis macrogeneion Post, 1973 (South Atlantic sub-tropical convergence area from South Africa to continental slope off South America)
• Magnisudis prionosa (Rofen, 1963) (Circumglobal in southern oceans from 20°S to Antarctic)
• Notolepis rissoi (Bonaparte, 1840) (worldwide in temperate and tropical waters)
• Paralepis elongata (Brauer, 1906) (One specimen from Natal, now missing)
• Stemonosudis elegans (Ege, 1933) (tropical Indo-Pacific, off South Africa only in Agulhas current)
• Stemonosudis gracilis (Ege, 1933) (Tropical waters of Indian and Pacific oceans; Off South Africa only in Agulhas current)
• Sudis hyalina Rafinesque, 1810 (Atlantic ocean from 50°N to South Africa)

Family: Scopelarchidae — Pearleyes

• Benthalbella infans Zugmayer, 1911 (off south-western Cape; tropical/subtropical in all 3 major oceans)
• Benthalbella macropinna Bussing and Bussing, 1966 (off south-western Cape coast; circumpolar in subantarctic and Antarctic waters)
• Scopelarchus analis (Brauer, 1902) (Common off southern Africa; tropical/subtropical all oceans)
• Scopelarchus guentheri Alcock, 1896 (off Durban; mainly tropical in the Atlantic, tropical/subtropical in Indian and Pacific oceans)
• Scopelarchus michaelsarsi Koefoed, 1955 (South-east of Durban;tropical/subtropical in all oceans)

Suborder: Chlorophthalmoidei


Family: Bathysauropsidae

• Bathysauropsis gracilis (Günther, 1878) (off Cape Point; circumglobal in southern oceans)

Family: Chlorophthalmidae — Greeneyes

• Chlorophthalmus punctatus Gilchrist, 1904 (both coasts of South Africa) (possibly a synonym of C.agassizii Bonaparte ,1840)

Family: Ipnopidae

Ipnopidae

Ipnopidae is a family of fishes in the order Aulopiformes. They are small slender fishes, with maximum length ranging from about to about . They are found in temperate and tropical deep waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.A number of species, especially in the genus Bathypterois...

• Bathymicrops regis Hjort and Koefoed, 1912 (once off Port Elizabeth in Agulhas basin)
• Bathypterois filiferus Gilchrist, 1906 (off Cape Point)
• Bathypterois guentheri Alcock, 1889 (off east coast between 22° - 33°S)
• Bathypterois phenax Parr, 1928 (off Cape Point)
• Bathytyphlops marionae Mead, 1959 (off Beira, Durban and Agulhas bank)
• Ipnops agassizii Garman, 1899 (off Cape Point)

Family: Notosudidae

Notosudidae

Waryfishes are deep-sea aulopiform fishes in the small family Notosudidae. They are thought to have a circumglobal distribution in sub-Arctic to subantarctic waters...

 — Notosudids

• Scopelosaurus ahlstromi
  Scopelosaurus ahlstromi
  Scopelosaurus ahlstromi is a waryfish of the family Notosudidae, found in all oceans, at depths of down to 500 m. Its length is between 15 and 25 cm.-References:...
  
  Bertelsen, Krefft and Marshall, 1976 (all 3 oceans from about 32° to 45°S)
• Scopelosaurus hamiltoni (Waite, 1916) (Southern oceans from about 30° to 60°S)
• Scopelosaurus herwigi Bertelson, Kreft and Marshall, 1976 (slope areas of Southern Africa)
• Scopelosaurus meadi Bertelson, Krefft and Marshall, 1976 (from about 19° to 43°S)
• Scopelosaurus smithii Bean, 1925 (mainly tropical, larger juveniles and adults also subtropical in all 3 oceans)

Family: Giganturidae — Telescopefish

• Rosaura indica (Brauer, 1901) (Tropical/subtropical in all 3 major oceans; Indian ocean from 35°49'S, 23°09'E northwards)

Suborder: Synodontoidei


Family: Synodontidae

Synodontidae

The Lizardfishes are a family, the Synodontidae, of aulopiform fish. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world....

 — Lizardfishes

• Blotchy lizardfish Saurida gracilis (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) (Indo-West Pacific to Algoa Bay)
• Largescale lizardfish Saurida undosquamis (Richardson, 1848) (Indo-West Pacific to Knysna)
• Spotnose lizardfish Synodus binotatus Schultz, 1953 (Indo-West Pacific, south to Natal)
• Variegated lizardfish Synodus dermatogenys Fowler, 1912 (Indo-West Pacific south to Algoa Bay)
• Indian lizardfish Synodus indicus (Day, 1873) (Mossel Bay to Red Sea and SriLanka)
• Blacktail lizardfish Synodis jaculum Russell and Cressey, 1979 (Indo-West Pacific south to Natal)
• Redband lizardfish Synodus variegatus (Lacepède, 1803) (Central KwaZulu-Natal to Red Sea)
• Painted lizardfish Trachinocephalus myops
  Trachinocephalus myops
  Trachinocephalus myops is a marine fish. It is a member of the lizardfish family and sometimes known as the snakefish and is the sole member of its genus.-External links:* http://www.austmus.gov.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/tmyops.htm...
  
  (Forster, 1801) (Tropical and warm temperate waters of all oceans, east coast south to Knysna)

Order Albuliformes — Bonefishes

Family: Albulidae

• Bonefish Albula vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) (Algoa Bay to tropics)

Order Anguilliformes — Eels

Suborder: Anguilloidei

Anguilloidei

The Anguilloidei are a sub-order of the order Anguilliformes that contains 6 families:*Anguillidae *Chlopsidae *Heterenchelyidae*Moringuidae *Muraenidae *Myrocongridae...

Family: Anguillidae

Anguillidae

Anguillidae is a family of fishes that contains the freshwater eels. There are 19 species/subspecies in this family, all in genus Anguilla. They are catadromous, meaning they spend their lives in freshwater rivers, lakes, or estuaries and return to the ocean to spawn...

 — Freshwater eels

• African mottled eel Anguilla bengalensis labiata (Peters, 1852) (Knysna to Kenya)
• Shortfin eel Anguilla bicolor bicolor McClelland, 1844 (Knysna to Kenya)
• Madagascar mottled eel Anguilla marmorata Qoy and Gaimard, 1824 (Western Cape to Kenya)
• Longfin eel Anguilla mossambica (Peters, 1852) (Most waters of the Cape northwards)

Family: Moringuidae

Moringuidae

The Moringuidae is a small family of eels. They are commonly known as spaghetti eels or worm eels, although the latter name is also shared with other families of eel.Moringuid eels are found in shallow tropical waters worldwide...

 — Spaghetti eels

• Spaghetti eel Moringua microchir (Bleeker, 1853) (Natal to Indo-West Pacific)

Family: Chlopsidae

Chlopsidae

The Chlopsidae, or false morays, are a family of eels found in coral reefs worldwide. As their name suggests, they somewhat resemble moray eels in appearance...

 — False morays

• Plain false moray Kaupichthys hyoproroides (Strömman, 1896) (Natal)

Family: Muraenidae — Moray eels

• Anarchias seychellensis
  Anarchias seychellensis
  Anarchias seychellensis is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was first named by Smith in 1962, and is commonly known as the Seychelles moray or the Marbled reef-eel....
  
  Smith, 1962 (Sodwana Bay)
• Whiteface moray Echidna leucotaenia
  Echidna leucotaenia
  Echidna leucotaenia is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was first named by Schultz in 1943, and is commonly known as the Whiteface moray or the White-banded moray eel....
  
  Schultz, 1943 (Natal northwards and east to central Pacific)
• Floral moray Echidna nebulosa (Ahl, 1789) (Port Alfred to Mozambique)
• Barred moray Echidna polyzona (Richardson, 1945) (Natal northwards, Indo-Pacific)
• Blackcheek moray Gymnothorax breedeni
  Gymnothorax breedeni
  Gymnothorax breedeni is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by McCosker and Randall in 1977, and is commonly known as the Blackcheek moray or the Masked moray....
  
  McCosker and Randall, 1977 (Sodwana Bay))
• Lattice-tail moray Gymnothorax buroensis
  Gymnothorax buroensis
  Gymnothorax buroensis is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Pieter Bleeker in 1857, and is commonly known as the Vagrant moray, Lattice-tail moray, Buru moray eel, or the Buro moray....
  
  (Bleeker, 1857) (Natal northwards, Indo-Pacific))
• Tiger moray Gymnothorax enigmatus McCosker and Randall, 1882 (Natal, Indo-Pacific))
• Salt and pepper moray Gymnothorax eurostus (Abbott, 1861) (Transkei to Bazaruto))
• Honeycomb moray Gymnothorax favagineus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 (Port Elizabeth to Mozambique))
• Yellow-edged moray Gymnothorax flavimarginatus (Rüppell, 1830) (Transkei northwards, Indo-Pacific)
• Freckled moray Gymnothorax fuscomaculatus
  Gymnothorax fuscomaculatus
  Gymnothorax fuscomaculatus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Schultz in 1953, and is commonly known as the Brown spotted moray, or the Freckled moray....
  
  (Schultz, 1953) (Natal; Central Pacific)
• Geometric moray Gymnothorax griseus (Lacepède, 1803) (transkei to Red Sea)(syn. Sideria grisea)
• Whitespotted moray Gymnothorax johnsoni
  Gymnothorax johnsoni
  Gymnothorax johnsoni is a moray eel found in the western Indian Ocean. It was first named by Smith in 1962, and is commonly known as the Whitespotted moray....
  
  (Smith, 1962) (Algoa Bay to Sodwana Bay)
• Trunk-eyed moray Gymnothorax margaritophorus
  Gymnothorax margaritophorus
  Gymnothorax margaritophorus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Pieter Bleeker in 1864, and is commonly known as the Blotch-necked moray, Blackpearl moray, Pearly moray eel, Pearly moray, Pearly reef-eel, or the Trunk-eyed moray....
  
  (Bleeker, 1865) (Transkei to Bazaruto, Indo-Pacific)
• Blackspot moray Gymnothorax melatremus
  Gymnothorax melatremus
  Gymnothorax melatremus is a Moray Eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 26cm in length....
  
  (Schultz, 1953) (Sodwana Bay)
• Guineafowl moray Gymnothorax meleagris (Shaw and Nodder, 1795) (Algoa Bay to southern Mozambique; Indo-Pacific)
• Starry moray Gymnothorax nudivomer
  Gymnothorax nudivomer
  Gymnothorax nudivomer is a Moray Eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 180cm in length....
  
  (Günther, 1867)(Transkei to Zanzibar)
• Reticulated moray Gymnothorax permistus (Smith, 1962) (Transkei to Delagoa Bay)
• Paintspotted moray Gymnothorax pictus (Ahl, 1789) (Natal to Indo-Pacific)(syn. Siderea picta)
• Leopard moray Gymnothorax undulatus (Lacepède, 1803) (Port Alfred to southern Mozambique; Indo-Pacific)
• Bar-tail moray Gymnothorax zonipectis
  Gymnothorax zonipectis
  Gymnothorax zonipectis is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Seale in 1906, and is commonly known as the Barredfin moray, Bar-tail moray, or the Zonipectis moray....
  
  Seale, 1906 (Sodwana Bay, central Pacific)
• Zebra moray Gymnomuraena zebra (Shaw, 1797) (Transkei to Mozambique))(syn. Echidna zebra)
• Tiger reef-eel Scuticaria tigrina
  Scuticaria tigrina
  Scuticaria tigrina is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is commonly known as the tiger reef-eel, tiger snake moray, tiger moray eel, tiger moray, tiger eel, spotted eel, or the spotted snake moray....
  
  (Lesson, 1828) (Natal to Southern Mozambique; Indo-Pacific)(syn. Uropterygius tigrinus(Lesson, 1829))
• Slender giant moray Strophidon sathete (Hamilton, 1822) (Bashee River to tropical Indo-Pacific)(syn. Thyrsoidea macrura (Bleeker, 1854))
• Uniform reef-eel Uropterygius concolor
  Uropterygius concolor
  Uropterygius concolor is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was first named by Rüppell in 1838, and is commonly known as the Unicolor snake moray, Uniform reef-eel, Brown reef-eel, Brown moray eel, or the Brown moray. It is mostly dull brown in colour, with the...
  
  Rüppell, 1838 (Durban to Red Sea)
• Barlip reef eel Uropterygius kamar
  Uropterygius kamar
  Uropterygius kamar is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is commonly known as the Barlip reef-eel, Barlip snakemoray, Moon moray, or the Moon snake moray....
  
  McCosker and Randall, 1977 (Sodwana Bay; Indo-Pacific)
• Shortfinned reef eel Uropterygius micropterus
  Uropterygius micropterus
  Uropterygius micropterus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is commonly known as the Tidepool snake moray, Shortfin snake moray, or the Shortfinned reef-eel....
  
  (Bleeker, 1852) (Durban northwards; Indo-Pacific)
• Freckleface reef eel Uropterygius xanthopterus
  Uropterygius xanthopterus
  Uropterygius xanthopterus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is commonly known as the Freckleface reef-eel, Spottedface moray, or the White-speckled snake moray....
  
  Bleeker, 1859 (Sodwana Bay to southern Mozambique: Indo-Pacific)

Suborder: Congroidei


Family: Congridae

Congridae

Congridae is the family of conger and garden eels. Congers are valuable and often large food fishes, while garden eels live in colonies, all protruding from the sea floor after the manner of plants in a garden...

 — Conger eels

• Blunt-tooth conger Ariosoma mauritianum (Pappenheim, 1914) (Natal to Indo-West Pacific)
• Tropical conger Ariosoma scheelei (Stromman, 1896) (Natal to Mozambique and Indo-Pacific)
• Hairy conger Bassanago albescens (Barnard, 1923) (Cape Point)
• Bathyuroconger vicinus (Vaillant, 1888) (off Cape Point)
• Coloconger scholesi Chan, 1967 (Natal to southern Mozambique)
• Blackedged conger Conger cinereus Rüppell, 1830 (Mossel Bay to Mozambique)
• Cape conger Conger wilsoni (Bloch and Schneider 1801) (Cape to southern Mozambique)
• Southern conger Gnathophis capensis (Kaup, 1856) (False Bay to Plettenberg Bay)
• Strap conger Gnathophis habenatus (Richardson, 1848) (Southern Cape to East London)
• Rhechias wallacei (Castle, 1968) (Natal to southern Mozambique)
• Longtail conger Uroconger lepturus (Richardson, 1854) (Natal to Red Sea and Indo-Pacific)

Family: Derichthyidae — Longneck eels

• Derichthys serpentinus Gill, 18884 (west of Cape Town; worldwide)
• Nessorhamphus ingolfianus (Schmidt, 1912) (off the Cape, also worldwide)

Family: Muraenesocidae

Muraenesocidae

The Muraenesocidae, or pike congers, are a small family of marine eels found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. Some species are known to enter brackish water....

 — Pike congers

• Pike conger Muraenesox bagio (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) (Knysna to Indo-Pacific)

Family: Nettastomatidae

Nettastomatidae

The duckbill eels or witch eels are a family, Nettastomatidae, of eels. The name is from Greek netta meaning "duck" and stoma meaning "mouth"....

 — Witch eels

• Venefica proboscidea (Vaillant, 1888) (off the Cape)

Family: Ophichthidae

Ophichthidae

Ophichthidae is a family of eels, comprising species commonly called worm eels and snake eels. The term "Ophichthidae" comes from Greek ophis and ichthys ....

 — Snake-eels and worm-eels

• Snake eel Apterichtus klazingai (Weber. 1913) (off Durban; Indonesia and western Pacific)
• Longtailed sand-eel Bascanichthys kirkii (Günther, 1870) (Natal to Aden)

Crocodile snake-eel Brachysomophis crocodilinus (Bennett, 1833) (Natal, Tanzania, Seychelles, Mauritius and Indo-Pacific)

• Marbled snake-eel Callechelys marmorata (Bleeker, 1853) (Natal to central Indo-Pacific)
• Fringelip snake-eel Cirrhimuraena playfairii (Günther, 1870) (Kosi Bay to Zanzibar)
• Sharpnose sand-eel Ichthyapus acuticeps (Barnard, 1923) (Durban to Zululand)
• Finny sand-eel Lamnostoma orientalis (McClelland, 1844) (Natal)
• Halfbanded snake-eel Leiuranus semicinctus (Lay and Bennett, 1839) (Knysna to Indo-Pacific)
• Ocellated snake-eel Myrichthys maculosus
  Myrichthys maculosus
  Myrichthys maculosus is a snake eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a length of ....
  
  (Cuvier, 1816) (Port Alfred to Kenya, Indo-Pacific and eastern PacificM)
• Bluntnose snake-eel Ophichthus apicalis (Bennett, 1830) (St Francis Bay to Kenya, Madagascar and Indo-Pacific)
• Slender snake-eel Ophichthus bennettai McCosker, 1986 (Cape Province west coast)
• Saddled snake-eel Ophichthus erabo (Jordan and Snyder, 1901) (off Durban; Indo-Pacific to Hawaii)
• Shorthead snake-eel Ophichthus marginatus (Peters, 1855) (Knysna; Aldabra to Inhaca)
• Plain snake-eel Ophichthus unicolor Regan, 1908 (Algoa Bay)
• Sand snake-eel Ophisurus serpens (Linnaeus 1766) (Angola to southern Mozambique)
• Estuary snake-eel Pisodonophis boro (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) (Knysna to Indo-Pacific)
• Longfin snake-eel Pisodonophis cancrivorus (Richardson, 1844) (Algoa Bay to Indo-Pacific)
• Slender worm-eel Scolecenchelys gymnota (Bleeker, 1857) (Bredasdorp to Zululand, east Africa to central Pacific)(syn. Muraenichthys gymnotus Bleeker, 1864)
• Redfin worm-eel Scolecenchelys laticaudata (Ogilby, 1897) (East London to Indo-Pacific)(syn. Muraenichthys laticaudata (Ogilby, 1897)
• Orangehead worm-eel Scolecenchelys xorae (Smith, 1958) (Algoa Bay to Natal)(syn. Muraenichthys xorae Smith, 1958)
• Earthworm snake-eel Yirrkala lumbricoides (Bleeker 1853) (off Durban; Northern Australia and Indo Pacific)
• Thin sand-eel Yirrkala tenuis (Günther, 1870)(Natal to southern Mozambique, Red Sea and possibly Mauritius)

Suborder: Nemichthyoidei

Family: Nemichthyidae — Snipe eels

• Avocettina acuticeps (Regan, 1916) (offshore Cape to Natal)
• Avocettina paucipora Nielsen and Smith, 1978 (off Durban)
• Nemichthys curvirostris (Strömman, 1896) (off the Cape)
• Nemichthys scolopaceus (Richardson, 1848) (off the Cape to Natal)

Family: Serrivomeridae — Sawtooth eels

• Serrivomer beanii Gill and Ryder, 1883 (off Cape and Natal)

Suborder: Synaphobranchoidei

Family: Synaphobranchidae — Cutthroat eels

• Diastobranchus capensis Barnard, 1923 (off Cape Point)
• Arrowtooth eel Dysomma anguillare Barnard, 1923 (Off Tugela river, Natal)
• Histiobranchus bathybius (Günther, 1877) (off Durban)
• Ilyophis brunneus Gilbert, 1892 (Off the Cape)
• Simenchelys parasitica Gill, 1879 (off the Cape)
• Synaphobranchus affinis Günther, 1877 (off Durban)
• Synaphobranchus kaupii Johnson, 1862 (off the Cape)

Order Elopiformes

Elopiformes

Elopiformes is the order of ray-finned fish that includes the tarpons, tenpounders, and ladyfish, as well as a number of extinct types. They have a long fossil record, easily distinguished from other fishes by the presence of an additional set of bones in the throat.They are related to the order...

Family: Elopidae

Elopidae

Elopidae is a family of ray-finned fish containing the single genus Elops. They are commonly known as ladyfishes, skipjacks, Jack-Rashes, or tenpounders....

 — Ladyfishes

• Atlantic ladyfish Elops lacerta Valenciennes, 1846 (Atlantic coast to 23°S)
• Ladyfish or Springer Elops machnata
  Elops machnata
  The tenpounder, Elops machnata, is a species of fish in the family Elopidae in the order Elopiformes .This species is found in coastal regions of the Indian ocean....
  
  (Forsskål, 1775) (Mossel Bay to Mozambique)

Family: Megalopidae — Tarpons

• Oxeye tarpon Megalops cyprinoides (Broussonet, 1782) (Port Alfred to Mozambique)

Order Notacanthiformes

Notacanthiformes

Notacanthiformes is an order of deep-sea ray-finned fishes, consisting of the families Halosauridae and Notacanthidae The order is of relatively recent vintage; Fishes of the World lists it as a suborder Notacanthoidei of Albuliformes...

Family: Halosauridae — Halosaurs

• Aldrovandia affinis (Günther, 1877) (Both coasts of SA; cicumglobal tropical and temperate)
• Aldrovandia phalacra (Vaillant, 1888) (off Cape Point)
• Halosauropsis macrochir (Günther, 1878) (off Cape Point)
• Halosaurus ovenii Johnson, 1863 (off Cape Point to Walvis Bay)

Family: Notacanthidae

Notacanthidae

The deep-sea spiny eels are a family, Notacanthidae, of fishes found worldwide below , and going as deep as .Their bodies of deep sea spiny eels are greatly elongated, though more tapered than in true eels. The caudal fin is small or nonexistent, while the anal fin is lengthy, as long as half of...

 — Spiny eels

• Notacanthus sexspinis Richardson, 1846 (Walvis Bay to Durban)
• Polyacanthonotus africanus (Gilchrist and von Bonde, 1924) (off Cape Point)
• Polyacanthonotus rissoanus (De Filippi & Verany, 1857) (off Cape Point to Table Bay)

Order Saccopharyngiformes

Saccopharyngiformes

Saccopharyngiformes is an order of unusual ray-finned fish superficially similar to eels, but with many internal differences. Most of the fish in this order are deep-sea types known from only a handful of specimens such as the Umbrella Mouth Gulper Eel. Saccopharyngiformes are also bioluminescent...

Familia: Cyematidae — Arrow eels

• Cyema atrum
  Cyema atrum
  Cyema atrum is a species of deep-water bobtail snipe eel in the family Cyematidae. It is the only member of it's genus. It is found globally at depths of 330 meters to 5100 meters....
  
  Günther, 1878 (Off southwest coast)
• Neocyema erythrosoma
  Neocyema erythrosoma
  Neocyema erythrosoma is a species of deep-water bobtail snipe eel in the family Cyematidae. It is the only member of it's genus. It is known only from the southeast Atlantic Ocean near South Africa at depths of 2000 meters to 2200 meters....
  
  Castle, 1978 (west of Cape Town)

Order Lampridiformes

Family: Lamprididae — Opahs (Lampridae in Smiths)

• Spotted opah Lampris guttatus (Brünnich, 1788) (all oceans but not in polar waters, occurs throughout Soath African waters, usually well offshore)
• Southern opah Lampris immaculatus Gilchrist, 1904 (Circumglobal south of 30°S)

Family: Lophotidae — Crestfishes

• Unicorn crestfish Eumecichthys fiski (Günther, 1890) (1 specimen, Kalk Bay in False Bay)
• Crestfish Lophotus lacepede Giorna, 1809 (Cape to Plettenberg Bay, rare but widely distributed in all oceans)

Family: Radiicephalidae — Tapertail

• Tapertail Radiicephalus elongatus Osorio, 1917 (70 miles SW of Cape Point)

Family: Regalecidae — Oarfishes

• Streamer fish Agrostichthys parkeri Giorna, 1809 (Southeast Atlantic, New Zealand and Tasmania)
• Oarfish Regalescus glesne Ascanius, 1772 (worldwide distribution)

Family: Stylephoridae — Tube-eye

• Stylephorus chordatus Shaw, 1791 (Three specimens taken off the east coast between 31°51'S - 33°10'S, 28°17'E - 30°01'E)

Family: Trachipteridae — Ribbonfishes

• Polka-dot ribbonfish Desmodema polysticum (Ogilby, 1897) (1 juvenile washed ashore at Xora river and 1 found at Simon's Town, False Bay)
• Blacktail ribbonfish Trachipterus jacksonensis (Ramsay, 1881) (East London and off Cape Town)
• Peregrine ribbonfish Trachipterus trachypterus
  Trachipterus trachypterus
  Trachipterus trachypterus, is a ribbonfish of the family Trachipteridae, found in tropical and subtropical seas worldwide. Its length is up to 3 m.-References:...
  
  (Gmelin, 1789) (off Table Bay)
• Scalloped ribbonfish Zu cristatus (prejuveniles collected at Luderitz, Algoa bay and Durban)
• Taper tail ribbonfish Zu elongatus (Heemstra and Kannemeyer, 1984) (4 specimens trawled off the western Cape coast)

Order Gonorynchiformes

Gonorynchiformes

Gonorynchiformes is an order of ray-finned fish that includes the important food source, the milkfish , and a number of lesser-known types, both marine and freshwater....

Family: Chanidae

• Milkfish Chanos chanos (Forsskål, 1775) (Krom river to tropical Indo-West Pacific)

Family: Gonorynchidae — Beaked sandfish

• Beaked sandfish Gonorynchus gonorynchus
  Gonorynchus gonorynchus
  Gonorynchus gonorynchus is a beaked salmon of the family Gonorynchidae, found on temperate continental shelves worldwide. Vernacular names for this fish include mousefish, ratfish, sandfish and sand eel.-References:...
  
  (Linnaeus 1766) (Cape of Good Hope)

Order Siluriformes — Catfishes

This is a sub-list of the List of marine fishes of South Africa for bony fishes recorded from the oceans bordering South Africa.
This list comprises locally used common names, scientific names

Binomial nomenclature

Binomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages...

 with author citation

Author citation (zoology)

In zoological nomenclature, author citation refers to listing the person who first makes a scientific name of a taxon available. This is done in a scientific publication while fulfilling the formal requirements under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, hereinafter termed "the Code"...

 and recorded ranges

Range (biology)

In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...

. Ranges specified may not be the entire known range for the species, but should include the known range within the waters surrounding the Republic of South Africa.

List ordering and taxonomy

Biological classification

Biological classification, or scientific classification in biology, is a method to group and categorize organisms by biological type, such as genus or species. Biological classification is part of scientific taxonomy....

 complies where possible with the current usage in Wikispecies

Wikispecies

Wikispecies is a wiki-based online project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aim is to create a comprehensive free content catalogue of all species and is directed at scientists, rather than at the general public...

, and may differ from the cited source, as listed citations are primarily for range or existence of records for the region.
Sub-taxa within any given Taxon

Taxon

|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...

 are arranged alphabetically as a general rule.
Details of each species may be available through the relevant internal links. Synonyms

Synonym (taxonomy)

In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...

 may be listed where useful.

Class Actinopterygii

Actinopterygii

The Actinopterygii or ray-finned fishes constitute a class or sub-class of the bony fishes.The ray-finned fishes are so called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines , as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize...

 — Ray-finned fishes

Superorder Acanthopterygii

Acanthopterygii

Acanthopterygii is a superorder of bony fishes in the class Actinopterygii. Members of this superorder are also known as the ray-finned fishes for the characteristic sharp, bony rays in their fins; however this name is also often given to the class Actinopterygii as a whole.Orders:* Order...

 — Spiny finned fishes

See article List of marine spiny-finned fishes of South Africa

Order Clupeiformes

Clupeiformes

Clupeiformes is the order of ray-finned fish that includes the herring family, Clupeidae, and the anchovy family, Engraulidae. The group includes many of the most important food fish....

Family: Chirocentridae — Wolfherrings

• Wolfherring Chirocentrus dorab (Forsskål, 1775) (Durban to Mozambique)

Family: Clupeidae

Clupeidae

Clupeidae is the family of the herrings, shads, sardines, hilsa and menhadens. It includes many of the most important food fishes in the world.-Description and biology:...

 — Herrings, sardines and pilchards

• East coast roundherring Etrumeus teres (De Kay, 1842) (Durban to Mozambique border)
• Roundherring Etrumeus whiteheadi Wongratana, 1983 (Walvis Bay to KwaZulu-Natal)
• Estuarine roundherring Gilchristella aestuaria
  Gilchristella aestuaria
  Gilchristella aestuaria, the Gilchrist's round herring, is a member of the herring family Clupeidae that occurs along the coasts of Southern Africa. It is the only species in its genus....
  
  (Gilchrist, 1913) (Knysna to Kosi bay, Saldanha Bay and possibly north to Orange River mouth)
• Blueline herring Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus (Rüppell, 1837) (Algoa Bay to Indo-Pacific)
• Razorbelly or Kelee shadHilsa kelee
  Hilsa kelee
  Hilsa kelee, called the kelee shad, fivespot herring and the razorbelly, is a species of shad native to the coasts and estuaries of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, generally in tropical waters. It feeds on diatoms and dinoflagellates, and any other small plankton that it can trap in its...
  
  (Cuvier, 1829) (Transkei to Mozambique and Indo-Pacific)
• Gizzard shad Nematalosa nasus (Bloch, 1795) (off Durban Bay; Gulf of Aden to Hong Kong)
• Indian pellona Pellona ditchela
  Pellona ditchela
  Pellona ditchela, called the Indian pellona, ditchelee and the toothed shad, is a species of longfin herring native to the coasts, mangrove swamps, and estuaries of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, generally in tropical waters...
  
  Valenciennes 1847 (Durban to Indo-Pacific)
• White sardinelle Sardinella albella (Valenciennes 1847) (Durban to Indo-Pacific, possibly East London)
• Round sardinelle Sardinella aurita Valenciennes, 1847 (Walvis Bay to Saldanha Bay)
• Goldstripe sardinelle Sardinella gibbosa (Bleeker, 1849) (Port Alfred to Mozambique)
• Pilchard or Sardine Sardinops sagax (Jenyns, 1842) (Namibia to Mozambique)
• Delicate roundherring Spratelloides delicatulus
  Spratelloides delicatulus
  The Blue sprat, Spratelloides delicatulus, also known as the Delicate round herring or Blueback sprat, is a type of sprat fish of Indo-Pacific distribution....
  
  (Bennett, 1831) (Zululand to Indo-Pacific)

Family: Engraulidae — Anchovies

• Cape anchovy Engraulus japonicus Temminck & Schlegel, 1846 (Walvis Bay to Mozambique and Indo-Pacific)
• Thorny anchovy Stolephorus holodon (Boulenger, 1900) (Swartkops estuary to northern Mozambique)
• Indian anchovy Stolephorus indicus (van Hasselt, 1823) (Natal to Indo-Pacific)
• Buccaneer anchovy Stolephorus punctifer (Fowler, 1938) (St Lucia, possibly Durban, to Indo-Pacific to Hawaii)
• Longjaw glassnose Thryssa setirostris (Broussonet, 1782) (Transkei through Indian ocean to Indonesia and China)
• Orangemouth glassnose or Bony Thryssa vitrirostris (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908) (Port Elizabeth to Mozambique)
• Thryssa setirostris (Broussonet, 1782)

Order Aulopiformes

Aulopiformes

Aulopiformes is an order of marine ray-finned fish consisting of some 15 extant and several prehistoric families with about 45 genera and over 230 species. The common names grinners, lizardfishes and allies or aulopiforms are sometimes used for this group...

Suborder: Alepisauroidei


Family: Evermannellidae — Sabretooth fishes

• Coccorella atlantica (Parr, 1928) (central water areas of all 3 major oceans; off western and south-western Cape coast, 1 specimen from 31°34'S, 30°09'E)
• Evermanella balbo (Risso, 1820) (4 specimens fromm off southern Natal, presumed to be circumglobal in transition region of southern oceans)

Family: Paralepididae — Barracudinas (incl. Anotopteridae — Daggertooths)

• Anopterus pharao Zugmeyer, 1911 (off west coast; south of Cape Agulhas; off Transkei and in Mozambique channel; worldwide between 25°N and 65°S)
• Lestidiops jayakari (Boulenger, 1889) (worldwide in tropical to temperate waters)
• Lestidiops similis (Ege, 1933) (Tropical and temperate Atlantic between 45°N and 45°S)
• Lestidium Atlanticum (Borodin, 1928) (Tropical to subtropical all oceans)
• Lestrolepis intermedia (Poey, 1868) (Tropical in all oceans; off South Africa only in Agulhas current)
• Macroparalepis affinis Ege, 1933 (anti-tropical in Atlantic ocean)
• Macroparalepis macrogeneion Post, 1973 (South Atlantic sub-tropical convergence area from South Africa to continental slope off South America)
• Magnisudis prionosa (Rofen, 1963) (Circumglobal in southern oceans from 20°S to Antarctic)
• Notolepis rissoi (Bonaparte, 1840) (worldwide in temperate and tropical waters)
• Paralepis elongata (Brauer, 1906) (One specimen from Natal, now missing)
• Stemonosudis elegans (Ege, 1933) (tropical Indo-Pacific, off South Africa only in Agulhas current)
• Stemonosudis gracilis (Ege, 1933) (Tropical waters of Indian and Pacific oceans; Off South Africa only in Agulhas current)
• Sudis hyalina Rafinesque, 1810 (Atlantic ocean from 50°N to South Africa)

Family: Scopelarchidae — Pearleyes

• Benthalbella infans Zugmayer, 1911 (off south-western Cape; tropical/subtropical in all 3 major oceans)
• Benthalbella macropinna Bussing and Bussing, 1966 (off south-western Cape coast; circumpolar in subantarctic and Antarctic waters)
• Scopelarchus analis (Brauer, 1902) (Common off southern Africa; tropical/subtropical all oceans)
• Scopelarchus guentheri Alcock, 1896 (off Durban; mainly tropical in the Atlantic, tropical/subtropical in Indian and Pacific oceans)
• Scopelarchus michaelsarsi Koefoed, 1955 (South-east of Durban;tropical/subtropical in all oceans)

Suborder: Chlorophthalmoidei


Family: Bathysauropsidae

• Bathysauropsis gracilis (Günther, 1878) (off Cape Point; circumglobal in southern oceans)

Family: Chlorophthalmidae — Greeneyes

• Chlorophthalmus punctatus Gilchrist, 1904 (both coasts of South Africa) (possibly a synonym of C.agassizii Bonaparte ,1840)

Family: Ipnopidae

Ipnopidae

Ipnopidae is a family of fishes in the order Aulopiformes. They are small slender fishes, with maximum length ranging from about to about . They are found in temperate and tropical deep waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.A number of species, especially in the genus Bathypterois...

• Bathymicrops regis Hjort and Koefoed, 1912 (once off Port Elizabeth in Agulhas basin)
• Bathypterois filiferus Gilchrist, 1906 (off Cape Point)
• Bathypterois guentheri Alcock, 1889 (off east coast between 22° - 33°S)
• Bathypterois phenax Parr, 1928 (off Cape Point)
• Bathytyphlops marionae Mead, 1959 (off Beira, Durban and Agulhas bank)
• Ipnops agassizii Garman, 1899 (off Cape Point)

Family: Notosudidae

Notosudidae

Waryfishes are deep-sea aulopiform fishes in the small family Notosudidae. They are thought to have a circumglobal distribution in sub-Arctic to subantarctic waters...

 — Notosudids

• Scopelosaurus ahlstromi
  Scopelosaurus ahlstromi
  Scopelosaurus ahlstromi is a waryfish of the family Notosudidae, found in all oceans, at depths of down to 500 m. Its length is between 15 and 25 cm.-References:...
  
  Bertelsen, Krefft and Marshall, 1976 (all 3 oceans from about 32° to 45°S)
• Scopelosaurus hamiltoni (Waite, 1916) (Southern oceans from about 30° to 60°S)
• Scopelosaurus herwigi Bertelson, Kreft and Marshall, 1976 (slope areas of Southern Africa)
• Scopelosaurus meadi Bertelson, Krefft and Marshall, 1976 (from about 19° to 43°S)
• Scopelosaurus smithii Bean, 1925 (mainly tropical, larger juveniles and adults also subtropical in all 3 oceans)

Family: Giganturidae — Telescopefish

• Rosaura indica (Brauer, 1901) (Tropical/subtropical in all 3 major oceans; Indian ocean from 35°49'S, 23°09'E northwards)

Suborder: Synodontoidei


Family: Synodontidae

Synodontidae

The Lizardfishes are a family, the Synodontidae, of aulopiform fish. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world....

 — Lizardfishes

• Blotchy lizardfish Saurida gracilis (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) (Indo-West Pacific to Algoa Bay)
• Largescale lizardfish Saurida undosquamis (Richardson, 1848) (Indo-West Pacific to Knysna)
• Spotnose lizardfish Synodus binotatus Schultz, 1953 (Indo-West Pacific, south to Natal)
• Variegated lizardfish Synodus dermatogenys Fowler, 1912 (Indo-West Pacific south to Algoa Bay)
• Indian lizardfish Synodus indicus (Day, 1873) (Mossel Bay to Red Sea and SriLanka)
• Blacktail lizardfish Synodis jaculum Russell and Cressey, 1979 (Indo-West Pacific south to Natal)
• Redband lizardfish Synodus variegatus (Lacepède, 1803) (Central KwaZulu-Natal to Red Sea)
• Painted lizardfish Trachinocephalus myops
  Trachinocephalus myops
  Trachinocephalus myops is a marine fish. It is a member of the lizardfish family and sometimes known as the snakefish and is the sole member of its genus.-External links:* http://www.austmus.gov.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/tmyops.htm...
  
  (Forster, 1801) (Tropical and warm temperate waters of all oceans, east coast south to Knysna)

Order Albuliformes — Bonefishes

Family: Albulidae

• Bonefish Albula vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) (Algoa Bay to tropics)

Order Anguilliformes — Eels

Suborder: Anguilloidei

Anguilloidei

The Anguilloidei are a sub-order of the order Anguilliformes that contains 6 families:*Anguillidae *Chlopsidae *Heterenchelyidae*Moringuidae *Muraenidae *Myrocongridae...

Family: Anguillidae

Anguillidae

Anguillidae is a family of fishes that contains the freshwater eels. There are 19 species/subspecies in this family, all in genus Anguilla. They are catadromous, meaning they spend their lives in freshwater rivers, lakes, or estuaries and return to the ocean to spawn...

 — Freshwater eels

• African mottled eel Anguilla bengalensis labiata (Peters, 1852) (Knysna to Kenya)
• Shortfin eel Anguilla bicolor bicolor McClelland, 1844 (Knysna to Kenya)
• Madagascar mottled eel Anguilla marmorata Qoy and Gaimard, 1824 (Western Cape to Kenya)
• Longfin eel Anguilla mossambica (Peters, 1852) (Most waters of the Cape northwards)

Family: Moringuidae

Moringuidae

The Moringuidae is a small family of eels. They are commonly known as spaghetti eels or worm eels, although the latter name is also shared with other families of eel.Moringuid eels are found in shallow tropical waters worldwide...

 — Spaghetti eels

• Spaghetti eel Moringua microchir (Bleeker, 1853) (Natal to Indo-West Pacific)

Family: Chlopsidae

Chlopsidae

The Chlopsidae, or false morays, are a family of eels found in coral reefs worldwide. As their name suggests, they somewhat resemble moray eels in appearance...

 — False morays

• Plain false moray Kaupichthys hyoproroides (Strömman, 1896) (Natal)

Family: Muraenidae — Moray eels

• Anarchias seychellensis
  Anarchias seychellensis
  Anarchias seychellensis is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was first named by Smith in 1962, and is commonly known as the Seychelles moray or the Marbled reef-eel....
  
  Smith, 1962 (Sodwana Bay)
• Whiteface moray Echidna leucotaenia
  Echidna leucotaenia
  Echidna leucotaenia is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was first named by Schultz in 1943, and is commonly known as the Whiteface moray or the White-banded moray eel....
  
  Schultz, 1943 (Natal northwards and east to central Pacific)
• Floral moray Echidna nebulosa (Ahl, 1789) (Port Alfred to Mozambique)
• Barred moray Echidna polyzona (Richardson, 1945) (Natal northwards, Indo-Pacific)
• Blackcheek moray Gymnothorax breedeni
  Gymnothorax breedeni
  Gymnothorax breedeni is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by McCosker and Randall in 1977, and is commonly known as the Blackcheek moray or the Masked moray....
  
  McCosker and Randall, 1977 (Sodwana Bay))
• Lattice-tail moray Gymnothorax buroensis
  Gymnothorax buroensis
  Gymnothorax buroensis is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Pieter Bleeker in 1857, and is commonly known as the Vagrant moray, Lattice-tail moray, Buru moray eel, or the Buro moray....
  
  (Bleeker, 1857) (Natal northwards, Indo-Pacific))
• Tiger moray Gymnothorax enigmatus McCosker and Randall, 1882 (Natal, Indo-Pacific))
• Salt and pepper moray Gymnothorax eurostus (Abbott, 1861) (Transkei to Bazaruto))
• Honeycomb moray Gymnothorax favagineus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 (Port Elizabeth to Mozambique))
• Yellow-edged moray Gymnothorax flavimarginatus (Rüppell, 1830) (Transkei northwards, Indo-Pacific)
• Freckled moray Gymnothorax fuscomaculatus
  Gymnothorax fuscomaculatus
  Gymnothorax fuscomaculatus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Schultz in 1953, and is commonly known as the Brown spotted moray, or the Freckled moray....
  
  (Schultz, 1953) (Natal; Central Pacific)
• Geometric moray Gymnothorax griseus (Lacepède, 1803) (transkei to Red Sea)(syn. Sideria grisea)
• Whitespotted moray Gymnothorax johnsoni
  Gymnothorax johnsoni
  Gymnothorax johnsoni is a moray eel found in the western Indian Ocean. It was first named by Smith in 1962, and is commonly known as the Whitespotted moray....
  
  (Smith, 1962) (Algoa Bay to Sodwana Bay)
• Trunk-eyed moray Gymnothorax margaritophorus
  Gymnothorax margaritophorus
  Gymnothorax margaritophorus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Pieter Bleeker in 1864, and is commonly known as the Blotch-necked moray, Blackpearl moray, Pearly moray eel, Pearly moray, Pearly reef-eel, or the Trunk-eyed moray....
  
  (Bleeker, 1865) (Transkei to Bazaruto, Indo-Pacific)
• Blackspot moray Gymnothorax melatremus
  Gymnothorax melatremus
  Gymnothorax melatremus is a Moray Eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 26cm in length....
  
  (Schultz, 1953) (Sodwana Bay)
• Guineafowl moray Gymnothorax meleagris (Shaw and Nodder, 1795) (Algoa Bay to southern Mozambique; Indo-Pacific)
• Starry moray Gymnothorax nudivomer
  Gymnothorax nudivomer
  Gymnothorax nudivomer is a Moray Eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 180cm in length....
  
  (Günther, 1867)(Transkei to Zanzibar)
• Reticulated moray Gymnothorax permistus (Smith, 1962) (Transkei to Delagoa Bay)
• Paintspotted moray Gymnothorax pictus (Ahl, 1789) (Natal to Indo-Pacific)(syn. Siderea picta)
• Leopard moray Gymnothorax undulatus (Lacepède, 1803) (Port Alfred to southern Mozambique; Indo-Pacific)
• Bar-tail moray Gymnothorax zonipectis
  Gymnothorax zonipectis
  Gymnothorax zonipectis is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Seale in 1906, and is commonly known as the Barredfin moray, Bar-tail moray, or the Zonipectis moray....
  
  Seale, 1906 (Sodwana Bay, central Pacific)
• Zebra moray Gymnomuraena zebra (Shaw, 1797) (Transkei to Mozambique))(syn. Echidna zebra)
• Tiger reef-eel Scuticaria tigrina
  Scuticaria tigrina
  Scuticaria tigrina is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is commonly known as the tiger reef-eel, tiger snake moray, tiger moray eel, tiger moray, tiger eel, spotted eel, or the spotted snake moray....
  
  (Lesson, 1828) (Natal to Southern Mozambique; Indo-Pacific)(syn. Uropterygius tigrinus(Lesson, 1829))
• Slender giant moray Strophidon sathete (Hamilton, 1822) (Bashee River to tropical Indo-Pacific)(syn. Thyrsoidea macrura (Bleeker, 1854))
• Uniform reef-eel Uropterygius concolor
  Uropterygius concolor
  Uropterygius concolor is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was first named by Rüppell in 1838, and is commonly known as the Unicolor snake moray, Uniform reef-eel, Brown reef-eel, Brown moray eel, or the Brown moray. It is mostly dull brown in colour, with the...
  
  Rüppell, 1838 (Durban to Red Sea)
• Barlip reef eel Uropterygius kamar
  Uropterygius kamar
  Uropterygius kamar is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is commonly known as the Barlip reef-eel, Barlip snakemoray, Moon moray, or the Moon snake moray....
  
  McCosker and Randall, 1977 (Sodwana Bay; Indo-Pacific)
• Shortfinned reef eel Uropterygius micropterus
  Uropterygius micropterus
  Uropterygius micropterus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is commonly known as the Tidepool snake moray, Shortfin snake moray, or the Shortfinned reef-eel....
  
  (Bleeker, 1852) (Durban northwards; Indo-Pacific)
• Freckleface reef eel Uropterygius xanthopterus
  Uropterygius xanthopterus
  Uropterygius xanthopterus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is commonly known as the Freckleface reef-eel, Spottedface moray, or the White-speckled snake moray....
  
  Bleeker, 1859 (Sodwana Bay to southern Mozambique: Indo-Pacific)

Suborder: Congroidei


Family: Congridae

Congridae

Congridae is the family of conger and garden eels. Congers are valuable and often large food fishes, while garden eels live in colonies, all protruding from the sea floor after the manner of plants in a garden...

 — Conger eels

• Blunt-tooth conger Ariosoma mauritianum (Pappenheim, 1914) (Natal to Indo-West Pacific)
• Tropical conger Ariosoma scheelei (Stromman, 1896) (Natal to Mozambique and Indo-Pacific)
• Hairy conger Bassanago albescens (Barnard, 1923) (Cape Point)
• Bathyuroconger vicinus (Vaillant, 1888) (off Cape Point)
• Coloconger scholesi Chan, 1967 (Natal to southern Mozambique)
• Blackedged conger Conger cinereus Rüppell, 1830 (Mossel Bay to Mozambique)
• Cape conger Conger wilsoni (Bloch and Schneider 1801) (Cape to southern Mozambique)
• Southern conger Gnathophis capensis (Kaup, 1856) (False Bay to Plettenberg Bay)
• Strap conger Gnathophis habenatus (Richardson, 1848) (Southern Cape to East London)
• Rhechias wallacei (Castle, 1968) (Natal to southern Mozambique)
• Longtail conger Uroconger lepturus (Richardson, 1854) (Natal to Red Sea and Indo-Pacific)

Family: Derichthyidae — Longneck eels

• Derichthys serpentinus Gill, 18884 (west of Cape Town; worldwide)
• Nessorhamphus ingolfianus (Schmidt, 1912) (off the Cape, also worldwide)

Family: Muraenesocidae

Muraenesocidae

The Muraenesocidae, or pike congers, are a small family of marine eels found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. Some species are known to enter brackish water....

 — Pike congers

• Pike conger Muraenesox bagio (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) (Knysna to Indo-Pacific)

Family: Nettastomatidae

Nettastomatidae

The duckbill eels or witch eels are a family, Nettastomatidae, of eels. The name is from Greek netta meaning "duck" and stoma meaning "mouth"....

 — Witch eels

• Venefica proboscidea (Vaillant, 1888) (off the Cape)

Family: Ophichthidae

Ophichthidae

Ophichthidae is a family of eels, comprising species commonly called worm eels and snake eels. The term "Ophichthidae" comes from Greek ophis and ichthys ....

 — Snake-eels and worm-eels

• Snake eel Apterichtus klazingai (Weber. 1913) (off Durban; Indonesia and western Pacific)
• Longtailed sand-eel Bascanichthys kirkii (Günther, 1870) (Natal to Aden)

Crocodile snake-eel Brachysomophis crocodilinus (Bennett, 1833) (Natal, Tanzania, Seychelles, Mauritius and Indo-Pacific)

• Marbled snake-eel Callechelys marmorata (Bleeker, 1853) (Natal to central Indo-Pacific)
• Fringelip snake-eel Cirrhimuraena playfairii (Günther, 1870) (Kosi Bay to Zanzibar)
• Sharpnose sand-eel Ichthyapus acuticeps (Barnard, 1923) (Durban to Zululand)
• Finny sand-eel Lamnostoma orientalis (McClelland, 1844) (Natal)
• Halfbanded snake-eel Leiuranus semicinctus (Lay and Bennett, 1839) (Knysna to Indo-Pacific)
• Ocellated snake-eel Myrichthys maculosus
  Myrichthys maculosus
  Myrichthys maculosus is a snake eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a length of ....
  
  (Cuvier, 1816) (Port Alfred to Kenya, Indo-Pacific and eastern PacificM)
• Bluntnose snake-eel Ophichthus apicalis (Bennett, 1830) (St Francis Bay to Kenya, Madagascar and Indo-Pacific)
• Slender snake-eel Ophichthus bennettai McCosker, 1986 (Cape Province west coast)
• Saddled snake-eel Ophichthus erabo (Jordan and Snyder, 1901) (off Durban; Indo-Pacific to Hawaii)
• Shorthead snake-eel Ophichthus marginatus (Peters, 1855) (Knysna; Aldabra to Inhaca)
• Plain snake-eel Ophichthus unicolor Regan, 1908 (Algoa Bay)
• Sand snake-eel Ophisurus serpens (Linnaeus 1766) (Angola to southern Mozambique)
• Estuary snake-eel Pisodonophis boro (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) (Knysna to Indo-Pacific)
• Longfin snake-eel Pisodonophis cancrivorus (Richardson, 1844) (Algoa Bay to Indo-Pacific)
• Slender worm-eel Scolecenchelys gymnota (Bleeker, 1857) (Bredasdorp to Zululand, east Africa to central Pacific)(syn. Muraenichthys gymnotus Bleeker, 1864)
• Redfin worm-eel Scolecenchelys laticaudata (Ogilby, 1897) (East London to Indo-Pacific)(syn. Muraenichthys laticaudata (Ogilby, 1897)
• Orangehead worm-eel Scolecenchelys xorae (Smith, 1958) (Algoa Bay to Natal)(syn. Muraenichthys xorae Smith, 1958)
• Earthworm snake-eel Yirrkala lumbricoides (Bleeker 1853) (off Durban; Northern Australia and Indo Pacific)
• Thin sand-eel Yirrkala tenuis (Günther, 1870)(Natal to southern Mozambique, Red Sea and possibly Mauritius)

Suborder: Nemichthyoidei

Family: Nemichthyidae — Snipe eels

• Avocettina acuticeps (Regan, 1916) (offshore Cape to Natal)
• Avocettina paucipora Nielsen and Smith, 1978 (off Durban)
• Nemichthys curvirostris (Strömman, 1896) (off the Cape)
• Nemichthys scolopaceus (Richardson, 1848) (off the Cape to Natal)

Family: Serrivomeridae — Sawtooth eels

• Serrivomer beanii Gill and Ryder, 1883 (off Cape and Natal)

Suborder: Synaphobranchoidei

Family: Synaphobranchidae — Cutthroat eels

• Diastobranchus capensis Barnard, 1923 (off Cape Point)
• Arrowtooth eel Dysomma anguillare Barnard, 1923 (Off Tugela river, Natal)
• Histiobranchus bathybius (Günther, 1877) (off Durban)
• Ilyophis brunneus Gilbert, 1892 (Off the Cape)
• Simenchelys parasitica Gill, 1879 (off the Cape)
• Synaphobranchus affinis Günther, 1877 (off Durban)
• Synaphobranchus kaupii Johnson, 1862 (off the Cape)

Order Elopiformes

Elopiformes

Elopiformes is the order of ray-finned fish that includes the tarpons, tenpounders, and ladyfish, as well as a number of extinct types. They have a long fossil record, easily distinguished from other fishes by the presence of an additional set of bones in the throat.They are related to the order...

Family: Elopidae

Elopidae

Elopidae is a family of ray-finned fish containing the single genus Elops. They are commonly known as ladyfishes, skipjacks, Jack-Rashes, or tenpounders....

 — Ladyfishes

• Atlantic ladyfish Elops lacerta Valenciennes, 1846 (Atlantic coast to 23°S)
• Ladyfish or Springer Elops machnata
  Elops machnata
  The tenpounder, Elops machnata, is a species of fish in the family Elopidae in the order Elopiformes .This species is found in coastal regions of the Indian ocean....
  
  (Forsskål, 1775) (Mossel Bay to Mozambique)

Family: Megalopidae — Tarpons

• Oxeye tarpon Megalops cyprinoides (Broussonet, 1782) (Port Alfred to Mozambique)

Order Notacanthiformes

Notacanthiformes

Notacanthiformes is an order of deep-sea ray-finned fishes, consisting of the families Halosauridae and Notacanthidae The order is of relatively recent vintage; Fishes of the World lists it as a suborder Notacanthoidei of Albuliformes...

Family: Halosauridae — Halosaurs

• Aldrovandia affinis (Günther, 1877) (Both coasts of SA; cicumglobal tropical and temperate)
• Aldrovandia phalacra (Vaillant, 1888) (off Cape Point)
• Halosauropsis macrochir (Günther, 1878) (off Cape Point)
• Halosaurus ovenii Johnson, 1863 (off Cape Point to Walvis Bay)

Family: Notacanthidae

Notacanthidae

The deep-sea spiny eels are a family, Notacanthidae, of fishes found worldwide below , and going as deep as .Their bodies of deep sea spiny eels are greatly elongated, though more tapered than in true eels. The caudal fin is small or nonexistent, while the anal fin is lengthy, as long as half of...

 — Spiny eels

• Notacanthus sexspinis Richardson, 1846 (Walvis Bay to Durban)
• Polyacanthonotus africanus (Gilchrist and von Bonde, 1924) (off Cape Point)
• Polyacanthonotus rissoanus (De Filippi & Verany, 1857) (off Cape Point to Table Bay)

Order Saccopharyngiformes

Saccopharyngiformes

Saccopharyngiformes is an order of unusual ray-finned fish superficially similar to eels, but with many internal differences. Most of the fish in this order are deep-sea types known from only a handful of specimens such as the Umbrella Mouth Gulper Eel. Saccopharyngiformes are also bioluminescent...

Familia: Cyematidae — Arrow eels

• Cyema atrum
  Cyema atrum
  Cyema atrum is a species of deep-water bobtail snipe eel in the family Cyematidae. It is the only member of it's genus. It is found globally at depths of 330 meters to 5100 meters....
  
  Günther, 1878 (Off southwest coast)
• Neocyema erythrosoma
  Neocyema erythrosoma
  Neocyema erythrosoma is a species of deep-water bobtail snipe eel in the family Cyematidae. It is the only member of it's genus. It is known only from the southeast Atlantic Ocean near South Africa at depths of 2000 meters to 2200 meters....
  
  Castle, 1978 (west of Cape Town)

Order Lampridiformes

Family: Lamprididae — Opahs (Lampridae in Smiths)

• Spotted opah Lampris guttatus (Brünnich, 1788) (all oceans but not in polar waters, occurs throughout Soath African waters, usually well offshore)
• Southern opah Lampris immaculatus Gilchrist, 1904 (Circumglobal south of 30°S)

Family: Lophotidae — Crestfishes

• Unicorn crestfish Eumecichthys fiski (Günther, 1890) (1 specimen, Kalk Bay in False Bay)
• Crestfish Lophotus lacepede Giorna, 1809 (Cape to Plettenberg Bay, rare but widely distributed in all oceans)

Family: Radiicephalidae — Tapertail

• Tapertail Radiicephalus elongatus Osorio, 1917 (70 miles SW of Cape Point)

Family: Regalecidae — Oarfishes

• Streamer fish Agrostichthys parkeri Giorna, 1809 (Southeast Atlantic, New Zealand and Tasmania)
• Oarfish Regalescus glesne Ascanius, 1772 (worldwide distribution)

Family: Stylephoridae — Tube-eye

• Stylephorus chordatus Shaw, 1791 (Three specimens taken off the east coast between 31°51'S - 33°10'S, 28°17'E - 30°01'E)

Family: Trachipteridae — Ribbonfishes

• Polka-dot ribbonfish Desmodema polysticum (Ogilby, 1897) (1 juvenile washed ashore at Xora river and 1 found at Simon's Town, False Bay)
• Blacktail ribbonfish Trachipterus jacksonensis (Ramsay, 1881) (East London and off Cape Town)
• Peregrine ribbonfish Trachipterus trachypterus
  Trachipterus trachypterus
  Trachipterus trachypterus, is a ribbonfish of the family Trachipteridae, found in tropical and subtropical seas worldwide. Its length is up to 3 m.-References:...
  
  (Gmelin, 1789) (off Table Bay)
• Scalloped ribbonfish Zu cristatus (prejuveniles collected at Luderitz, Algoa bay and Durban)
• Taper tail ribbonfish Zu elongatus (Heemstra and Kannemeyer, 1984) (4 specimens trawled off the western Cape coast)

Order Characiformes

Characiformes

The Characiformes are an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, there are a few thousand different species, including the well-known piranha and tetras.-Taxonomy:...

Family: Acestrorhynchidae

Family: Alestiidae

Alestiidae

African tetras are a group of Characiformes fish exclusively found in Africa. This family contains about 18 genera and 110 species....

Family: Anostomidae

Anostomidae

The Anostomidae are a family of ray-finned fishes that belong to the order Characiformes. Closely related to the Chilodontidae and formerly included with them, the Anostomidae contain over 140 described species...

Family: Characidae

Characidae

The Characidae, characids or characins are a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their status as a by and large monophyletic group at family...

Family: Chilodontidae

Chilodontidae

The Chilodontidae, or headstanders, are a small family of freshwater characiform fishes found in South America. This family is closely related to Anostomidae and is sometimes treated as a subfamily, Chilodontinae, within the Anostomidae family....

Family: Citharinidae

Citharinidae

Citharinidae is a small family of characiform fish. They are fresh-water fish native to Africa, and are sufficiently abundant to be a significant food fish.They are deep-bodied, silvery fish, measuring up to in length and weighing up to...

Family: Ctenoluciidae

Ctenoluciidae

Ctenoluciidae , also known as pike-characins, is a small family of freshwater fishes from Panama and South America.They have elongate, pike-like bodies, and several sharp and conical teeth...

Family: Curimatidae

Curimatidae

Curimatidae is a family of freshwater fishes, known as the toothless characins of the order Characiformes. They originate from southern Costa Rica to northern Argentina. The family has around 95 species, many of them frequently exploited for human consumption...

Family: Cynodontidae

Cynodontidae

Cynodontidae fishes , or dogteeth tetras, are a family of freshwater fishes found in the Neotropics. This group is not very diverse, and includes only five genera and 14 species. Most of what is known about this family is from the members of the subfamily Cynodontinae, which includes the largest...

Family: Erythrinidae

Erythrinidae

The Erythrinidae are a family of freshwater fish found in rivers from Costa Rica south as far as Argentina. They are common and are usually caught with hooks by fishermen, partially because of their voracious behaviour....

Family: Gasteropelecidae

Family: Hemiodontidae

Hemiodontidae

The Hemidontidae is a small family of freshwater characins found in northern South America, south to the Paraná-Paraguay Basin. The larger species are popular food fish....

Family: Hepsetidae

Family: Lebiasinidae

Lebiasinidae

The Lebiasinidae , are a family of freshwater fishes found in Costa Rica, Panama, and South America. They are usually small and are known as ornamental fishes in aquaria, including popular fishes such as the pencil fish and splashing tetra.Lebiasinids are small, cylindrical fish, ranging from to ...

Family: Parodontidae

Parodontidae

Parodontidae is a family of fresh water fish of the order Characiformes. There are three genera including about 21 species, though there are several undescribed species. These fish are generally benthic and live in mountain streams of eastern Panama and South America It was formerly considered a...

Family: Prochilodontidae

Prochilodontidae

The Prochilodontidae, or flannel-mouthed characins, are a small family of fishes found primarily in the northern half of South America, south to Paraguay and northern Argentina...

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Order Gonorynchiformes

Gonorynchiformes

Gonorynchiformes is an order of ray-finned fish that includes the important food source, the milkfish , and a number of lesser-known types, both marine and freshwater....

Family: Chanidae

• Milkfish Chanos chanos (Forsskål, 1775) (Krom river to tropical Indo-West Pacific)

Family: Gonorynchidae — Beaked sandfish

• Beaked sandfish Gonorynchus gonorynchus
  Gonorynchus gonorynchus
  Gonorynchus gonorynchus is a beaked salmon of the family Gonorynchidae, found on temperate continental shelves worldwide. Vernacular names for this fish include mousefish, ratfish, sandfish and sand eel.-References:...
  
  (Linnaeus 1766) (Cape of Good Hope)

Order Siluriformes — Catfishes

This is a sub-list of the List of marine fishes of South Africa for bony fishes recorded from the oceans bordering South Africa.
This list comprises locally used common names, scientific names

Binomial nomenclature

Binomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages...

 with author citation

Author citation (zoology)

In zoological nomenclature, author citation refers to listing the person who first makes a scientific name of a taxon available. This is done in a scientific publication while fulfilling the formal requirements under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, hereinafter termed "the Code"...

 and recorded ranges

Range (biology)

In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...

. Ranges specified may not be the entire known range for the species, but should include the known range within the waters surrounding the Republic of South Africa.

List ordering and taxonomy

Biological classification

Biological classification, or scientific classification in biology, is a method to group and categorize organisms by biological type, such as genus or species. Biological classification is part of scientific taxonomy....

 complies where possible with the current usage in Wikispecies

Wikispecies

Wikispecies is a wiki-based online project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aim is to create a comprehensive free content catalogue of all species and is directed at scientists, rather than at the general public...

, and may differ from the cited source, as listed citations are primarily for range or existence of records for the region.
Sub-taxa within any given Taxon

Taxon

|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...

 are arranged alphabetically as a general rule.
Details of each species may be available through the relevant internal links. Synonyms

Synonym (taxonomy)

In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...

 may be listed where useful.

Class Actinopterygii

Actinopterygii

The Actinopterygii or ray-finned fishes constitute a class or sub-class of the bony fishes.The ray-finned fishes are so called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines , as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize...

 — Ray-finned fishes

Superorder Acanthopterygii

Acanthopterygii

Acanthopterygii is a superorder of bony fishes in the class Actinopterygii. Members of this superorder are also known as the ray-finned fishes for the characteristic sharp, bony rays in their fins; however this name is also often given to the class Actinopterygii as a whole.Orders:* Order...

 — Spiny finned fishes

See article List of marine spiny-finned fishes of South Africa

Order Clupeiformes

Clupeiformes

Clupeiformes is the order of ray-finned fish that includes the herring family, Clupeidae, and the anchovy family, Engraulidae. The group includes many of the most important food fish....

Family: Chirocentridae — Wolfherrings

• Wolfherring Chirocentrus dorab (Forsskål, 1775) (Durban to Mozambique)

Family: Clupeidae

Clupeidae

Clupeidae is the family of the herrings, shads, sardines, hilsa and menhadens. It includes many of the most important food fishes in the world.-Description and biology:...

 — Herrings, sardines and pilchards

• East coast roundherring Etrumeus teres (De Kay, 1842) (Durban to Mozambique border)
• Roundherring Etrumeus whiteheadi Wongratana, 1983 (Walvis Bay to KwaZulu-Natal)
• Estuarine roundherring Gilchristella aestuaria
  Gilchristella aestuaria
  Gilchristella aestuaria, the Gilchrist's round herring, is a member of the herring family Clupeidae that occurs along the coasts of Southern Africa. It is the only species in its genus....
  
  (Gilchrist, 1913) (Knysna to Kosi bay, Saldanha Bay and possibly north to Orange River mouth)
• Blueline herring Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus (Rüppell, 1837) (Algoa Bay to Indo-Pacific)
• Razorbelly or Kelee shadHilsa kelee
  Hilsa kelee
  Hilsa kelee, called the kelee shad, fivespot herring and the razorbelly, is a species of shad native to the coasts and estuaries of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, generally in tropical waters. It feeds on diatoms and dinoflagellates, and any other small plankton that it can trap in its...
  
  (Cuvier, 1829) (Transkei to Mozambique and Indo-Pacific)
• Gizzard shad Nematalosa nasus (Bloch, 1795) (off Durban Bay; Gulf of Aden to Hong Kong)
• Indian pellona Pellona ditchela
  Pellona ditchela
  Pellona ditchela, called the Indian pellona, ditchelee and the toothed shad, is a species of longfin herring native to the coasts, mangrove swamps, and estuaries of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, generally in tropical waters...
  
  Valenciennes 1847 (Durban to Indo-Pacific)
• White sardinelle Sardinella albella (Valenciennes 1847) (Durban to Indo-Pacific, possibly East London)
• Round sardinelle Sardinella aurita Valenciennes, 1847 (Walvis Bay to Saldanha Bay)
• Goldstripe sardinelle Sardinella gibbosa (Bleeker, 1849) (Port Alfred to Mozambique)
• Pilchard or Sardine Sardinops sagax (Jenyns, 1842) (Namibia to Mozambique)
• Delicate roundherring Spratelloides delicatulus
  Spratelloides delicatulus
  The Blue sprat, Spratelloides delicatulus, also known as the Delicate round herring or Blueback sprat, is a type of sprat fish of Indo-Pacific distribution....
  
  (Bennett, 1831) (Zululand to Indo-Pacific)

Family: Engraulidae — Anchovies

• Cape anchovy Engraulus japonicus Temminck & Schlegel, 1846 (Walvis Bay to Mozambique and Indo-Pacific)
• Thorny anchovy Stolephorus holodon (Boulenger, 1900) (Swartkops estuary to northern Mozambique)
• Indian anchovy Stolephorus indicus (van Hasselt, 1823) (Natal to Indo-Pacific)
• Buccaneer anchovy Stolephorus punctifer (Fowler, 1938) (St Lucia, possibly Durban, to Indo-Pacific to Hawaii)
• Longjaw glassnose Thryssa setirostris (Broussonet, 1782) (Transkei through Indian ocean to Indonesia and China)
• Orangemouth glassnose or Bony Thryssa vitrirostris (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908) (Port Elizabeth to Mozambique)
• Thryssa setirostris (Broussonet, 1782)

Order Aulopiformes

Aulopiformes

Aulopiformes is an order of marine ray-finned fish consisting of some 15 extant and several prehistoric families with about 45 genera and over 230 species. The common names grinners, lizardfishes and allies or aulopiforms are sometimes used for this group...

Suborder: Alepisauroidei


Family: Evermannellidae — Sabretooth fishes

• Coccorella atlantica (Parr, 1928) (central water areas of all 3 major oceans; off western and south-western Cape coast, 1 specimen from 31°34'S, 30°09'E)
• Evermanella balbo (Risso, 1820) (4 specimens fromm off southern Natal, presumed to be circumglobal in transition region of southern oceans)

Family: Paralepididae — Barracudinas (incl. Anotopteridae — Daggertooths)

• Anopterus pharao Zugmeyer, 1911 (off west coast; south of Cape Agulhas; off Transkei and in Mozambique channel; worldwide between 25°N and 65°S)
• Lestidiops jayakari (Boulenger, 1889) (worldwide in tropical to temperate waters)
• Lestidiops similis (Ege, 1933) (Tropical and temperate Atlantic between 45°N and 45°S)
• Lestidium Atlanticum (Borodin, 1928) (Tropical to subtropical all oceans)
• Lestrolepis intermedia (Poey, 1868) (Tropical in all oceans; off South Africa only in Agulhas current)
• Macroparalepis affinis Ege, 1933 (anti-tropical in Atlantic ocean)
• Macroparalepis macrogeneion Post, 1973 (South Atlantic sub-tropical convergence area from South Africa to continental slope off South America)
• Magnisudis prionosa (Rofen, 1963) (Circumglobal in southern oceans from 20°S to Antarctic)
• Notolepis rissoi (Bonaparte, 1840) (worldwide in temperate and tropical waters)
• Paralepis elongata (Brauer, 1906) (One specimen from Natal, now missing)
• Stemonosudis elegans (Ege, 1933) (tropical Indo-Pacific, off South Africa only in Agulhas current)
• Stemonosudis gracilis (Ege, 1933) (Tropical waters of Indian and Pacific oceans; Off South Africa only in Agulhas current)
• Sudis hyalina Rafinesque, 1810 (Atlantic ocean from 50°N to South Africa)

Family: Scopelarchidae — Pearleyes

• Benthalbella infans Zugmayer, 1911 (off south-western Cape; tropical/subtropical in all 3 major oceans)
• Benthalbella macropinna Bussing and Bussing, 1966 (off south-western Cape coast; circumpolar in subantarctic and Antarctic waters)
• Scopelarchus analis (Brauer, 1902) (Common off southern Africa; tropical/subtropical all oceans)
• Scopelarchus guentheri Alcock, 1896 (off Durban; mainly tropical in the Atlantic, tropical/subtropical in Indian and Pacific oceans)
• Scopelarchus michaelsarsi Koefoed, 1955 (South-east of Durban;tropical/subtropical in all oceans)

Suborder: Chlorophthalmoidei


Family: Bathysauropsidae

• Bathysauropsis gracilis (Günther, 1878) (off Cape Point; circumglobal in southern oceans)

Family: Chlorophthalmidae — Greeneyes

• Chlorophthalmus punctatus Gilchrist, 1904 (both coasts of South Africa) (possibly a synonym of C.agassizii Bonaparte ,1840)

Family: Ipnopidae

Ipnopidae

Ipnopidae is a family of fishes in the order Aulopiformes. They are small slender fishes, with maximum length ranging from about to about . They are found in temperate and tropical deep waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.A number of species, especially in the genus Bathypterois...

• Bathymicrops regis Hjort and Koefoed, 1912 (once off Port Elizabeth in Agulhas basin)
• Bathypterois filiferus Gilchrist, 1906 (off Cape Point)
• Bathypterois guentheri Alcock, 1889 (off east coast between 22° - 33°S)
• Bathypterois phenax Parr, 1928 (off Cape Point)
• Bathytyphlops marionae Mead, 1959 (off Beira, Durban and Agulhas bank)
• Ipnops agassizii Garman, 1899 (off Cape Point)

Family: Notosudidae

Notosudidae

Waryfishes are deep-sea aulopiform fishes in the small family Notosudidae. They are thought to have a circumglobal distribution in sub-Arctic to subantarctic waters...

 — Notosudids

• Scopelosaurus ahlstromi
  Scopelosaurus ahlstromi
  Scopelosaurus ahlstromi is a waryfish of the family Notosudidae, found in all oceans, at depths of down to 500 m. Its length is between 15 and 25 cm.-References:...
  
  Bertelsen, Krefft and Marshall, 1976 (all 3 oceans from about 32° to 45°S)
• Scopelosaurus hamiltoni (Waite, 1916) (Southern oceans from about 30° to 60°S)
• Scopelosaurus herwigi Bertelson, Kreft and Marshall, 1976 (slope areas of Southern Africa)
• Scopelosaurus meadi Bertelson, Krefft and Marshall, 1976 (from about 19° to 43°S)
• Scopelosaurus smithii Bean, 1925 (mainly tropical, larger juveniles and adults also subtropical in all 3 oceans)

Family: Giganturidae — Telescopefish

• Rosaura indica (Brauer, 1901) (Tropical/subtropical in all 3 major oceans; Indian ocean from 35°49'S, 23°09'E northwards)

Suborder: Synodontoidei


Family: Synodontidae

Synodontidae

The Lizardfishes are a family, the Synodontidae, of aulopiform fish. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world....

 — Lizardfishes

• Blotchy lizardfish Saurida gracilis (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) (Indo-West Pacific to Algoa Bay)
• Largescale lizardfish Saurida undosquamis (Richardson, 1848) (Indo-West Pacific to Knysna)
• Spotnose lizardfish Synodus binotatus Schultz, 1953 (Indo-West Pacific, south to Natal)
• Variegated lizardfish Synodus dermatogenys Fowler, 1912 (Indo-West Pacific south to Algoa Bay)
• Indian lizardfish Synodus indicus (Day, 1873) (Mossel Bay to Red Sea and SriLanka)
• Blacktail lizardfish Synodis jaculum Russell and Cressey, 1979 (Indo-West Pacific south to Natal)
• Redband lizardfish Synodus variegatus (Lacepède, 1803) (Central KwaZulu-Natal to Red Sea)
• Painted lizardfish Trachinocephalus myops
  Trachinocephalus myops
  Trachinocephalus myops is a marine fish. It is a member of the lizardfish family and sometimes known as the snakefish and is the sole member of its genus.-External links:* http://www.austmus.gov.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/tmyops.htm...
  
  (Forster, 1801) (Tropical and warm temperate waters of all oceans, east coast south to Knysna)

Order Albuliformes — Bonefishes

Family: Albulidae

• Bonefish Albula vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) (Algoa Bay to tropics)

Order Anguilliformes — Eels

Suborder: Anguilloidei

Anguilloidei

The Anguilloidei are a sub-order of the order Anguilliformes that contains 6 families:*Anguillidae *Chlopsidae *Heterenchelyidae*Moringuidae *Muraenidae *Myrocongridae...

Family: Anguillidae

Anguillidae

Anguillidae is a family of fishes that contains the freshwater eels. There are 19 species/subspecies in this family, all in genus Anguilla. They are catadromous, meaning they spend their lives in freshwater rivers, lakes, or estuaries and return to the ocean to spawn...

 — Freshwater eels

• African mottled eel Anguilla bengalensis labiata (Peters, 1852) (Knysna to Kenya)
• Shortfin eel Anguilla bicolor bicolor McClelland, 1844 (Knysna to Kenya)
• Madagascar mottled eel Anguilla marmorata Qoy and Gaimard, 1824 (Western Cape to Kenya)
• Longfin eel Anguilla mossambica (Peters, 1852) (Most waters of the Cape northwards)

Family: Moringuidae

Moringuidae

The Moringuidae is a small family of eels. They are commonly known as spaghetti eels or worm eels, although the latter name is also shared with other families of eel.Moringuid eels are found in shallow tropical waters worldwide...

 — Spaghetti eels

• Spaghetti eel Moringua microchir (Bleeker, 1853) (Natal to Indo-West Pacific)

Family: Chlopsidae

Chlopsidae

The Chlopsidae, or false morays, are a family of eels found in coral reefs worldwide. As their name suggests, they somewhat resemble moray eels in appearance...

 — False morays

• Plain false moray Kaupichthys hyoproroides (Strömman, 1896) (Natal)

Family: Muraenidae — Moray eels

• Anarchias seychellensis
  Anarchias seychellensis
  Anarchias seychellensis is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was first named by Smith in 1962, and is commonly known as the Seychelles moray or the Marbled reef-eel....
  
  Smith, 1962 (Sodwana Bay)
• Whiteface moray Echidna leucotaenia
  Echidna leucotaenia
  Echidna leucotaenia is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was first named by Schultz in 1943, and is commonly known as the Whiteface moray or the White-banded moray eel....
  
  Schultz, 1943 (Natal northwards and east to central Pacific)
• Floral moray Echidna nebulosa (Ahl, 1789) (Port Alfred to Mozambique)
• Barred moray Echidna polyzona (Richardson, 1945) (Natal northwards, Indo-Pacific)
• Blackcheek moray Gymnothorax breedeni
  Gymnothorax breedeni
  Gymnothorax breedeni is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by McCosker and Randall in 1977, and is commonly known as the Blackcheek moray or the Masked moray....
  
  McCosker and Randall, 1977 (Sodwana Bay))
• Lattice-tail moray Gymnothorax buroensis
  Gymnothorax buroensis
  Gymnothorax buroensis is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Pieter Bleeker in 1857, and is commonly known as the Vagrant moray, Lattice-tail moray, Buru moray eel, or the Buro moray....
  
  (Bleeker, 1857) (Natal northwards, Indo-Pacific))
• Tiger moray Gymnothorax enigmatus McCosker and Randall, 1882 (Natal, Indo-Pacific))
• Salt and pepper moray Gymnothorax eurostus (Abbott, 1861) (Transkei to Bazaruto))
• Honeycomb moray Gymnothorax favagineus Bloch & Schneider, 1801 (Port Elizabeth to Mozambique))
• Yellow-edged moray Gymnothorax flavimarginatus (Rüppell, 1830) (Transkei northwards, Indo-Pacific)
• Freckled moray Gymnothorax fuscomaculatus
  Gymnothorax fuscomaculatus
  Gymnothorax fuscomaculatus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Schultz in 1953, and is commonly known as the Brown spotted moray, or the Freckled moray....
  
  (Schultz, 1953) (Natal; Central Pacific)
• Geometric moray Gymnothorax griseus (Lacepède, 1803) (transkei to Red Sea)(syn. Sideria grisea)
• Whitespotted moray Gymnothorax johnsoni
  Gymnothorax johnsoni
  Gymnothorax johnsoni is a moray eel found in the western Indian Ocean. It was first named by Smith in 1962, and is commonly known as the Whitespotted moray....
  
  (Smith, 1962) (Algoa Bay to Sodwana Bay)
• Trunk-eyed moray Gymnothorax margaritophorus
  Gymnothorax margaritophorus
  Gymnothorax margaritophorus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Pieter Bleeker in 1864, and is commonly known as the Blotch-necked moray, Blackpearl moray, Pearly moray eel, Pearly moray, Pearly reef-eel, or the Trunk-eyed moray....
  
  (Bleeker, 1865) (Transkei to Bazaruto, Indo-Pacific)
• Blackspot moray Gymnothorax melatremus
  Gymnothorax melatremus
  Gymnothorax melatremus is a Moray Eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 26cm in length....
  
  (Schultz, 1953) (Sodwana Bay)
• Guineafowl moray Gymnothorax meleagris (Shaw and Nodder, 1795) (Algoa Bay to southern Mozambique; Indo-Pacific)
• Starry moray Gymnothorax nudivomer
  Gymnothorax nudivomer
  Gymnothorax nudivomer is a Moray Eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 180cm in length....
  
  (Günther, 1867)(Transkei to Zanzibar)
• Reticulated moray Gymnothorax permistus (Smith, 1962) (Transkei to Delagoa Bay)
• Paintspotted moray Gymnothorax pictus (Ahl, 1789) (Natal to Indo-Pacific)(syn. Siderea picta)
• Leopard moray Gymnothorax undulatus (Lacepède, 1803) (Port Alfred to southern Mozambique; Indo-Pacific)
• Bar-tail moray Gymnothorax zonipectis
  Gymnothorax zonipectis
  Gymnothorax zonipectis is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first named by Seale in 1906, and is commonly known as the Barredfin moray, Bar-tail moray, or the Zonipectis moray....
  
  Seale, 1906 (Sodwana Bay, central Pacific)
• Zebra moray Gymnomuraena zebra (Shaw, 1797) (Transkei to Mozambique))(syn. Echidna zebra)
• Tiger reef-eel Scuticaria tigrina
  Scuticaria tigrina
  Scuticaria tigrina is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is commonly known as the tiger reef-eel, tiger snake moray, tiger moray eel, tiger moray, tiger eel, spotted eel, or the spotted snake moray....
  
  (Lesson, 1828) (Natal to Southern Mozambique; Indo-Pacific)(syn. Uropterygius tigrinus(Lesson, 1829))
• Slender giant moray Strophidon sathete (Hamilton, 1822) (Bashee River to tropical Indo-Pacific)(syn. Thyrsoidea macrura (Bleeker, 1854))
• Uniform reef-eel Uropterygius concolor
  Uropterygius concolor
  Uropterygius concolor is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was first named by Rüppell in 1838, and is commonly known as the Unicolor snake moray, Uniform reef-eel, Brown reef-eel, Brown moray eel, or the Brown moray. It is mostly dull brown in colour, with the...
  
  Rüppell, 1838 (Durban to Red Sea)
• Barlip reef eel Uropterygius kamar
  Uropterygius kamar
  Uropterygius kamar is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is commonly known as the Barlip reef-eel, Barlip snakemoray, Moon moray, or the Moon snake moray....
  
  McCosker and Randall, 1977 (Sodwana Bay; Indo-Pacific)
• Shortfinned reef eel Uropterygius micropterus
  Uropterygius micropterus
  Uropterygius micropterus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is commonly known as the Tidepool snake moray, Shortfin snake moray, or the Shortfinned reef-eel....
  
  (Bleeker, 1852) (Durban northwards; Indo-Pacific)
• Freckleface reef eel Uropterygius xanthopterus
  Uropterygius xanthopterus
  Uropterygius xanthopterus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is commonly known as the Freckleface reef-eel, Spottedface moray, or the White-speckled snake moray....
  
  Bleeker, 1859 (Sodwana Bay to southern Mozambique: Indo-Pacific)

Suborder: Congroidei


Family: Congridae

Congridae

Congridae is the family of conger and garden eels. Congers are valuable and often large food fishes, while garden eels live in colonies, all protruding from the sea floor after the manner of plants in a garden...

 — Conger eels

• Blunt-tooth conger Ariosoma mauritianum (Pappenheim, 1914) (Natal to Indo-West Pacific)
• Tropical conger Ariosoma scheelei (Stromman, 1896) (Natal to Mozambique and Indo-Pacific)
• Hairy conger Bassanago albescens (Barnard, 1923) (Cape Point)
• Bathyuroconger vicinus (Vaillant, 1888) (off Cape Point)
• Coloconger scholesi Chan, 1967 (Natal to southern Mozambique)
• Blackedged conger Conger cinereus Rüppell, 1830 (Mossel Bay to Mozambique)
• Cape conger Conger wilsoni (Bloch and Schneider 1801) (Cape to southern Mozambique)
• Southern conger Gnathophis capensis (Kaup, 1856) (False Bay to Plettenberg Bay)
• Strap conger Gnathophis habenatus (Richardson, 1848) (Southern Cape to East London)
• Rhechias wallacei (Castle, 1968) (Natal to southern Mozambique)
• Longtail conger Uroconger lepturus (Richardson, 1854) (Natal to Red Sea and Indo-Pacific)

Family: Derichthyidae — Longneck eels

• Derichthys serpentinus Gill, 18884 (west of Cape Town; worldwide)
• Nessorhamphus ingolfianus (Schmidt, 1912) (off the Cape, also worldwide)

Family: Muraenesocidae

Muraenesocidae

The Muraenesocidae, or pike congers, are a small family of marine eels found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. Some species are known to enter brackish water....

 — Pike congers

• Pike conger Muraenesox bagio (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) (Knysna to Indo-Pacific)

Family: Nettastomatidae

Nettastomatidae

The duckbill eels or witch eels are a family, Nettastomatidae, of eels. The name is from Greek netta meaning "duck" and stoma meaning "mouth"....

 — Witch eels

• Venefica proboscidea (Vaillant, 1888) (off the Cape)

Family: Ophichthidae

Ophichthidae

Ophichthidae is a family of eels, comprising species commonly called worm eels and snake eels. The term "Ophichthidae" comes from Greek ophis and ichthys ....

 — Snake-eels and worm-eels

• Snake eel Apterichtus klazingai (Weber. 1913) (off Durban; Indonesia and western Pacific)
• Longtailed sand-eel Bascanichthys kirkii (Günther, 1870) (Natal to Aden)

Crocodile snake-eel Brachysomophis crocodilinus (Bennett, 1833) (Natal, Tanzania, Seychelles, Mauritius and Indo-Pacific)

• Marbled snake-eel Callechelys marmorata (Bleeker, 1853) (Natal to central Indo-Pacific)
• Fringelip snake-eel Cirrhimuraena playfairii (Günther, 1870) (Kosi Bay to Zanzibar)
• Sharpnose sand-eel Ichthyapus acuticeps (Barnard, 1923) (Durban to Zululand)
• Finny sand-eel Lamnostoma orientalis (McClelland, 1844) (Natal)
• Halfbanded snake-eel Leiuranus semicinctus (Lay and Bennett, 1839) (Knysna to Indo-Pacific)
• Ocellated snake-eel Myrichthys maculosus
  Myrichthys maculosus
  Myrichthys maculosus is a snake eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a length of ....
  
  (Cuvier, 1816) (Port Alfred to Kenya, Indo-Pacific and eastern PacificM)
• Bluntnose snake-eel Ophichthus apicalis (Bennett, 1830) (St Francis Bay to Kenya, Madagascar and Indo-Pacific)
• Slender snake-eel Ophichthus bennettai McCosker, 1986 (Cape Province west coast)
• Saddled snake-eel Ophichthus erabo (Jordan and Snyder, 1901) (off Durban; Indo-Pacific to Hawaii)
• Shorthead snake-eel Ophichthus marginatus (Peters, 1855) (Knysna; Aldabra to Inhaca)
• Plain snake-eel Ophichthus unicolor Regan, 1908 (Algoa Bay)
• Sand snake-eel Ophisurus serpens (Linnaeus 1766) (Angola to southern Mozambique)
• Estuary snake-eel Pisodonophis boro (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) (Knysna to Indo-Pacific)
• Longfin snake-eel Pisodonophis cancrivorus (Richardson, 1844) (Algoa Bay to Indo-Pacific)
• Slender worm-eel Scolecenchelys gymnota (Bleeker, 1857) (Bredasdorp to Zululand, east Africa to central Pacific)(syn. Muraenichthys gymnotus Bleeker, 1864)
• Redfin worm-eel Scolecenchelys laticaudata (Ogilby, 1897) (East London to Indo-Pacific)(syn. Muraenichthys laticaudata (Ogilby, 1897)
• Orangehead worm-eel Scolecenchelys xorae (Smith, 1958) (Algoa Bay to Natal)(syn. Muraenichthys xorae Smith, 1958)
• Earthworm snake-eel Yirrkala lumbricoides (Bleeker 1853) (off Durban; Northern Australia and Indo Pacific)
• Thin sand-eel Yirrkala tenuis (Günther, 1870)(Natal to southern Mozambique, Red Sea and possibly Mauritius)

Suborder: Nemichthyoidei

Family: Nemichthyidae — Snipe eels

• Avocettina acuticeps (Regan, 1916) (offshore Cape to Natal)
• Avocettina paucipora Nielsen and Smith, 1978 (off Durban)
• Nemichthys curvirostris (Strömman, 1896) (off the Cape)
• Nemichthys scolopaceus (Richardson, 1848) (off the Cape to Natal)

Family: Serrivomeridae — Sawtooth eels

• Serrivomer beanii Gill and Ryder, 1883 (off Cape and Natal)

Suborder: Synaphobranchoidei

Family: Synaphobranchidae — Cutthroat eels

• Diastobranchus capensis Barnard, 1923 (off Cape Point)
• Arrowtooth eel Dysomma anguillare Barnard, 1923 (Off Tugela river, Natal)
• Histiobranchus bathybius (Günther, 1877) (off Durban)
• Ilyophis brunneus Gilbert, 1892 (Off the Cape)
• Simenchelys parasitica Gill, 1879 (off the Cape)
• Synaphobranchus affinis Günther, 1877 (off Durban)
• Synaphobranchus kaupii Johnson, 1862 (off the Cape)

Order Elopiformes

Elopiformes

Elopiformes is the order of ray-finned fish that includes the tarpons, tenpounders, and ladyfish, as well as a number of extinct types. They have a long fossil record, easily distinguished from other fishes by the presence of an additional set of bones in the throat.They are related to the order...

Family: Elopidae

Elopidae

Elopidae is a family of ray-finned fish containing the single genus Elops. They are commonly known as ladyfishes, skipjacks, Jack-Rashes, or tenpounders....

 — Ladyfishes

• Atlantic ladyfish Elops lacerta Valenciennes, 1846 (Atlantic coast to 23°S)
• Ladyfish or Springer Elops machnata
  Elops machnata
  The tenpounder, Elops machnata, is a species of fish in the family Elopidae in the order Elopiformes .This species is found in coastal regions of the Indian ocean....
  
  (Forsskål, 1775) (Mossel Bay to Mozambique)

Family: Megalopidae — Tarpons

• Oxeye tarpon Megalops cyprinoides (Broussonet, 1782) (Port Alfred to Mozambique)

Order Notacanthiformes

Notacanthiformes

Notacanthiformes is an order of deep-sea ray-finned fishes, consisting of the families Halosauridae and Notacanthidae The order is of relatively recent vintage; Fishes of the World lists it as a suborder Notacanthoidei of Albuliformes...

Family: Halosauridae — Halosaurs

• Aldrovandia affinis (Günther, 1877) (Both coasts of SA; cicumglobal tropical and temperate)
• Aldrovandia phalacra (Vaillant, 1888) (off Cape Point)
• Halosauropsis macrochir (Günther, 1878) (off Cape Point)
• Halosaurus ovenii Johnson, 1863 (off Cape Point to Walvis Bay)

Family: Notacanthidae

Notacanthidae

The deep-sea spiny eels are a family, Notacanthidae, of fishes found worldwide below , and going as deep as .Their bodies of deep sea spiny eels are greatly elongated, though more tapered than in true eels. The caudal fin is small or nonexistent, while the anal fin is lengthy, as long as half of...

 — Spiny eels

• Notacanthus sexspinis Richardson, 1846 (Walvis Bay to Durban)
• Polyacanthonotus africanus (Gilchrist and von Bonde, 1924) (off Cape Point)
• Polyacanthonotus rissoanus (De Filippi & Verany, 1857) (off Cape Point to Table Bay)

Order Saccopharyngiformes

Saccopharyngiformes

Saccopharyngiformes is an order of unusual ray-finned fish superficially similar to eels, but with many internal differences. Most of the fish in this order are deep-sea types known from only a handful of specimens such as the Umbrella Mouth Gulper Eel. Saccopharyngiformes are also bioluminescent...

Familia: Cyematidae — Arrow eels

• Cyema atrum
  Cyema atrum
  Cyema atrum is a species of deep-water bobtail snipe eel in the family Cyematidae. It is the only member of it's genus. It is found globally at depths of 330 meters to 5100 meters....
  
  Günther, 1878 (Off southwest coast)
• Neocyema erythrosoma
  Neocyema erythrosoma
  Neocyema erythrosoma is a species of deep-water bobtail snipe eel in the family Cyematidae. It is the only member of it's genus. It is known only from the southeast Atlantic Ocean near South Africa at depths of 2000 meters to 2200 meters....
  
  Castle, 1978 (west of Cape Town)

Order Lampridiformes

Family: Lamprididae — Opahs (Lampridae in Smiths)

• Spotted opah Lampris guttatus (Brünnich, 1788) (all oceans but not in polar waters, occurs throughout Soath African waters, usually well offshore)
• Southern opah Lampris immaculatus Gilchrist, 1904 (Circumglobal south of 30°S)

Family: Lophotidae — Crestfishes

• Unicorn crestfish Eumecichthys fiski (Günther, 1890) (1 specimen, Kalk Bay in False Bay)
• Crestfish Lophotus lacepede Giorna, 1809 (Cape to Plettenberg Bay, rare but widely distributed in all oceans)

Family: Radiicephalidae — Tapertail

• Tapertail Radiicephalus elongatus Osorio, 1917 (70 miles SW of Cape Point)

Family: Regalecidae — Oarfishes

• Streamer fish Agrostichthys parkeri Giorna, 1809 (Southeast Atlantic, New Zealand and Tasmania)
• Oarfish Regalescus glesne Ascanius, 1772 (worldwide distribution)

Family: Stylephoridae — Tube-eye

• Stylephorus chordatus Shaw, 1791 (Three specimens taken off the east coast between 31°51'S - 33°10'S, 28°17'E - 30°01'E)

Family: Trachipteridae — Ribbonfishes

• Polka-dot ribbonfish Desmodema polysticum (Ogilby, 1897) (1 juvenile washed ashore at Xora river and 1 found at Simon's Town, False Bay)
• Blacktail ribbonfish Trachipterus jacksonensis (Ramsay, 1881) (East London and off Cape Town)
• Peregrine ribbonfish Trachipterus trachypterus
  Trachipterus trachypterus
  Trachipterus trachypterus, is a ribbonfish of the family Trachipteridae, found in tropical and subtropical seas worldwide. Its length is up to 3 m.-References:...
  
  (Gmelin, 1789) (off Table Bay)
• Scalloped ribbonfish Zu cristatus (prejuveniles collected at Luderitz, Algoa bay and Durban)
• Taper tail ribbonfish Zu elongatus (Heemstra and Kannemeyer, 1984) (4 specimens trawled off the western Cape coast)

Order Characiformes

Characiformes

The Characiformes are an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, there are a few thousand different species, including the well-known piranha and tetras.-Taxonomy:...

Family: Acestrorhynchidae

Family: Alestiidae

Alestiidae

African tetras are a group of Characiformes fish exclusively found in Africa. This family contains about 18 genera and 110 species....

Family: Anostomidae

Anostomidae

The Anostomidae are a family of ray-finned fishes that belong to the order Characiformes. Closely related to the Chilodontidae and formerly included with them, the Anostomidae contain over 140 described species...

Family: Characidae

Characidae

The Characidae, characids or characins are a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their status as a by and large monophyletic group at family...

Family: Chilodontidae

Chilodontidae

The Chilodontidae, or headstanders, are a small family of freshwater characiform fishes found in South America. This family is closely related to Anostomidae and is sometimes treated as a subfamily, Chilodontinae, within the Anostomidae family....

Family: Citharinidae

Citharinidae

Citharinidae is a small family of characiform fish. They are fresh-water fish native to Africa, and are sufficiently abundant to be a significant food fish.They are deep-bodied, silvery fish, measuring up to in length and weighing up to...

Family: Ctenoluciidae

Ctenoluciidae

Ctenoluciidae , also known as pike-characins, is a small family of freshwater fishes from Panama and South America.They have elongate, pike-like bodies, and several sharp and conical teeth...

Family: Curimatidae

Curimatidae

Curimatidae is a family of freshwater fishes, known as the toothless characins of the order Characiformes. They originate from southern Costa Rica to northern Argentina. The family has around 95 species, many of them frequently exploited for human consumption...

Family: Cynodontidae

Cynodontidae

Cynodontidae fishes , or dogteeth tetras, are a family of freshwater fishes found in the Neotropics. This group is not very diverse, and includes only five genera and 14 species. Most of what is known about this family is from the members of the subfamily Cynodontinae, which includes the largest...

Family: Erythrinidae

Erythrinidae

The Erythrinidae are a family of freshwater fish found in rivers from Costa Rica south as far as Argentina. They are common and are usually caught with hooks by fishermen, partially because of their voracious behaviour....

Family: Gasteropelecidae

Family: Hemiodontidae

Hemiodontidae

The Hemidontidae is a small family of freshwater characins found in northern South America, south to the Paraná-Paraguay Basin. The larger species are popular food fish....

Family: Hepsetidae

Family: Lebiasinidae

Lebiasinidae

The Lebiasinidae , are a family of freshwater fishes found in Costa Rica, Panama, and South America. They are usually small and are known as ornamental fishes in aquaria, including popular fishes such as the pencil fish and splashing tetra.Lebiasinids are small, cylindrical fish, ranging from to ...

Family: Parodontidae

Parodontidae

Parodontidae is a family of fresh water fish of the order Characiformes. There are three genera including about 21 species, though there are several undescribed species. These fish are generally benthic and live in mountain streams of eastern Panama and South America It was formerly considered a...

Family: Prochilodontidae

Prochilodontidae

The Prochilodontidae, or flannel-mouthed characins, are a small family of fishes found primarily in the northern half of South America, south to Paraguay and northern Argentina...

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Order Gonorynchiformes

Gonorynchiformes

Gonorynchiformes is an order of ray-finned fish that includes the important food source, the milkfish , and a number of lesser-known types, both marine and freshwater....

Family: Chanidae

• Milkfish Chanos chanos (Forsskål, 1775) (Krom river to tropical Indo-West Pacific)

Family: Gonorynchidae — Beaked sandfish

• Beaked sandfish Gonorynchus gonorynchus
  Gonorynchus gonorynchus
  Gonorynchus gonorynchus is a beaked salmon of the family Gonorynchidae, found on temperate continental shelves worldwide. Vernacular names for this fish include mousefish, ratfish, sandfish and sand eel.-References:...
  
  (Linnaeus 1766) (Cape of Good Hope)

Order Siluriformes — Catfishes

Family: Plotosidae — Eel catfishes

• Striped eel-catfish Plotosus lineatus (Thunberg, 1787) (Port Elizabeth to Mozambique)
• Eel-catfish Plotosus nkunga Gomon & Taylor, 1982 (Knysna to Kosi Bay)

Order Batrachoidiformes

Family: Batrachoididae — Toadfishes

• Puzzled toadfish Austrobatrachus foedus (Smith, 1947) (Algoa Bay to Coffee Bay, Transkei)
• White-ribbed toadfish Batrichthys albofasciatus Smith, 1934 (1 specimen, Great Fish Point)
• Snakehead toadfish Batrichthys apiatus (Valenciennes, 1837) (Saldanha Bay to Umtata River, Transkei)
• Pleated toadfish Batrichthys felinus Smith, 1952 (Cape to Port Alfred)
• Chocolate toadfish Chatrabus hendersoni Smith, 1952 (Port Alfred to Storms River Mouth)
• Broadbodied toadfish Riekertia ellisi Smith, 1952 (Durban to Port St. Johns)

Order Gadiformes

Gadiformes

Gadiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, also called the Anacanthini, that includes the cod and its allies. Many major food fish are in this order. They are found in marine waters throughout the world, and there are also a small number of freshwater species.Common characteristics include the...

Family: Bregmacerotidae — Codlets

• Bregmaceros atlanticus
  Bregmaceros atlanticus
  Bregmaceros atlanticus is a species of fish in the Bregmacerotidae family.-References:*C. E. Dawson, Observations on the Anacanthine Fish Bregmaceros atlanticus in the North-Central Gulf of Mexico, Copeia, Vol. 1966, No. 3 , pp. 604-605....
  
  Goode and Bean, 1886 (Off south Cape and Natal coasts; Circumtropical)
• Bregmaceros macclellandii Thompson, 1840 (from Cape eastwards; circumtropical but not known from east Pacific)
• Bregmaceros nectabanus Whitley, 1941 (Cape eastwards to tropical Indo-West Pacific; Tropical eastern Atlantic)

Family: Gadidae

Gadidae

Gadidae is a family of marine fish, included in the order Gadiformes. It includes the cod, haddock, whiting, and pollock.Most species of gadid are found in temperate waters of the northern hemisphere, although there are some exceptions. They are generally medium sized fish, and are distinguished...

 — Cods

• Cape rockling Gaidropserus capensis (Kaup, 1858) (Cape Town to East London)
• Comb rockling Gaidropseris insularum Sivertsen, 1945 (Cape Peninsula and West coast)

Family: Macrouridae — Grenadiers

• Bathygadus favosus Goode and Bean, 1886 (off Cape Town)
• Bathygadus melanobranchus Vaillant, 1888 (Table Bay and Natal coast. Unverified, specimens missing)
• Bathygadus sp. (cf. favosus Goode and Bean) (Mozambique and Agulhas Bank)
• Coelorhynchus acanthiger Barnard, 1925 (off Namibia to Cape Point)
• Coelorhynchus braueri Barnard, 1925 (Saldanha and Table Bay, Cape Point, East London; Angola to Mozambique)
• Coelorhynchus denticulatus Regan, 1921 (Natal coast to Tanzania)
• Coelorhynchus fasciatus (Günther, 1878) (off south coast)
• Coelorhynchus flabellispinus (Alcock, 1894) (Indian ocean. specimens from southern Africa differ somewhat from those off India an may be a different species)
• Coelorinchus matamua (McCann & McKnight, 1980) (apparently abundant off South Africa, also found off New Zealand and southern Australia) (syn. Mahia matamua McCann and McKnight, 1980)
• Coryphaenoides armatus (Hector, 1875) (abyssal, all oceans except Arctic. One Atlantic record off South Africa)
• Coryphaenoides striatura Barnard, 1925 (off Cape Point)
• Coryphaenoides subserrulatus Makushok, 1976 (Agulhas bank)
• Gadomus capensis (Gilchrist and von Bonde, 1924) (Table Bay to Mozambique)
• Macrourus holotrachys Günther, 1878 (Cape Point and Prince Edward Island; also off New Zealand and southwestern Australia)
• Malacocephalus laevis (Lowe, 1843) (off South Africa; widespread in Atlantic and Indian oceans)
• Mesobius antipodum Hubbs and Iwamoto, 1977 (off south coast of SA; New Zealand, eastern Indian ocean and Madagascar plateau)
• Nezumia brevibarbata (Barnard, 1925) (Cape Point; Known only off the Cape, where it is common)
• Nezumia leonis(Barnard, 1925) (off Cape Point); Namibia; southwestern Atlantic)
• Trachyrincus scabrus (Rafinesque, 1810) (Namibia, west coast of South Africa; eastern North Atlantic and Mediterranean sea)
• Ventrifossa aff. divergens Gilbert and Hubbs, 1920 (off East London, Durban, Natal and southern Mozambique)
• Ventrifossa nasuta (Smith, 1935) (Durban to Mozambique)
• Ventrifossa ori (Smith, 1968) (off Agulhas bank, Durban and East London)

Family: Melanonidae

Melanonidae

Melanonidae is a family containing just two species of cod-like marine fishes.Both species are small fish, no more than in length, and are black in colour...

 — Melanonids

• Melanonus gracilis Günther, 1878 (Circum-Antarctic south of Subtropical convergence; off Cape Peninsula)

Family: Merlucciidae

Merlucciidae

Merlucciidae is a family of cod-like fish, including most hakes.They are native to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, being common in southern waters off Tasmania and New Zealand....

 — Hakes

• Lyconodes argenteus (Gilchrist, 1922) (west of Cape of Good Hope)
• Straptail Macruronis capensis Davies, 1950 (off Algoa Bay)
• Shallow water hake Merluccius capensis
  Merluccius capensis
  The Shallow-water Cape hake is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius, found in the south-eastern Atlantic Ocean, along the coast of South Africa. Its range extends southwards around the coast and into the Indian Ocean. On the east coast it is less abundant and Merluccius capensis is rarely...
  
  Castelnau, 1861 (Namibia to East London)
• Deep water hake Merluccius paradoxus
  Merluccius paradoxus
  The Deep-water Cape hake is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius, found in the south-eastern Atlantic Ocean, along the coast of Southern Africa, south of Angola...
  
  Franca, 1960 (Cape Frio to East London)

Family: Moridae

Moridae

Moridae is a family of cod-like fishes, known as codlings, hakelings, and moras.Morids are marine fishes found throughout the world, and may be found at depths of up to , although most prefer shallower waters...

 — Deepsea cods

• Antimora rostrata (Günther, 1878) (Locally abundant, found in most oceans)
• Laemonema compressicauda (Gilchrist, 1904) (2 small specimens off Transkei)
• Laemonema globiceps Gilchrist, 1906 (off south-western Cape coast)
• Lepidion capensis Gilchrist, 1922 (Cape to East London)
• Lepidion natalensis Gilchrist, 1922 (continental slope off Natal)
• Physiculus capensis Gilchrist, 1922 (Cape Peninsula to East London)
• Physiculus natalensis Gilchrist, 1922 (upper slope off Natal)
• Tripterophycis gilchristi Boulenger, 1902 (upper slope off the Cape and Durban)

Order Lophiiformes — Anglerfishes

Suborder: Antennarioidei

Family: Antennariidae — Anglers

• Freckled angler Antennarius coccineus (Lesson, 1831) (Natal; throughout Indian ocean, Red Sea and tropical Pacific to Hawaiian islands; Tropical and eastern Pacific off Costa Rica and Cocos and Galapagos islands)
• Big angler Antennarius commersoni (Latreille, 1804) (Natal, Red Sea and tropical Indo-West Pacific to Hawaiian islands)
• Shaggy angler Antennarius hispidus (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) (Indo-West Pacific, south to Knysna)
• Painted angler Antennarius pictus (Shaw and Nodder, 1794) (Durban to Zanzibar and tropical Indo-West Pacific to Hawaii)
• Striped angler Antennarius striatus (Shaw and Nodder, 1794) (Algoa Bay through Indo-West Pacific to Hawaiian islands)
• Pygmy angler Antennarius tuberosus (Cuvier, 1817) (Natal, Maputo, Madagascar, Aldabra islands, and throughout Indo-West Pacific including Hawaiian and Line islands, and Taumotu Archipelago to Pitcairn island)
• Sargassum fish Histrio histrio (Linnaeus, 1758) (Cape Point to Mozambique)

Suborder: Lophioidei

Family: Lophiidae — Monks

• Natal monk Lophiodes insidiator (Regan, 1921) (Natal to northern Madagascar)
• Lophiodes mutilus (Alcock, 1893) (Indo-West Pacific south to Natal)
• Lophiomus setigerus (Vahl, 1797) (Indo-West Pacific south to False Bay)
• Monk Lophius upsicephalus Smith, 1841 (off Cape of Good Hope; Eastern South Atlantic and South western Indian ocean off South Africa)
• Lophius vomerinus (Valenciennes, 1837) (off Cape of Good Hope; Bay of Bengal off Burma)

Suborder: Ogcocephalioidei

Superfamily: Ceratioidea


Family: Ceratiidae

Ceratiidae

Sea devils are a family of deep-sea anglerfish otherwise known as Ceratiidae from the Greek keras, "horn", referring to the bioluminescent lure that projects from the fishes' forehead....

 — Seadevils

• Ceratias holboelli Krøyer, 1845 (single specimen off Cape Town at 34°12'S, 16°35'E; Nearly cosmopolitan in the world's oceans)
• Ceratias tentaculatus (Norman, 1930) (Specimens from off Dealagoa bay, off southern Natal, off Saldanha bay. Throughout southern oceans)
• Cryptopsaras couesii Gill, 1883 (off Cape of Good Hope, all major oceans)

Family: Himantolophidae — Footballfish

• Himantolophus groenlandicus Reinhardt, 1837 (all major oceans)

Family: Linophrynidae — Dwarf anglers

• Linophryne parini Bertelsen, 1980 (1 specimen off Port Alfred)
• Linophryne digitopogon Balushkin and Trunov, 1988 (1 specimen off Hondeklipbaai on west coast)

Family: Melanocetidae — Devil-anglers

• Melanocetus johnsonii Günther, 1864 (off all coasts of South Africa; all major oceans)

Superfamily: Chaunacioidea

Family: Chaunacidae — Coffinfishes

• Chaunax pencillatus McCulloch, 1915 (Natal and Southern Mozambique)
• Chaunax pictus Lowe, 1846 (Knysna to Natal)

Superfamily: Ogcocephalioidea

Family: Ogcocephalidae

Ogcocephalidae

Ogcocephalidae is a family of bottom-dwelling, specially adapted fish. They are sometimes referred to as batfishes or anglerfishes. They are found in deep, lightless waters of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans....

 — Seabats

• Dibranchus stellulatus Gilbert, 1905 (Off Natal; Hawaii)
• Circular seabatHalieutaea fitzsimonsi (Gilchrist and Thompson, 1916) (Plettenberg bay to Tugela river, Natal)
• Hairy seabat Halieutaea hancocki Regan, 1908 (Tropical Indian ocean; off Natal)
• Spiny seabat Halieutaea spicata Smith, 1965 (1 specimen, Isipingo, Natal)
• Halieutopsis micropus
  Halieutopsis
  Halieutopsis is a fish genus in the family Ogcocephalidae.-Species:* Halieutopsis andriashevi Bradbury, 1988.* Halieutopsis bathyoreos Bradbury, 1988.* Halieutopsis galatea Bradbury, 1988.* Halieutopsis ingerorum Bradbury, 1988....
  
  (Alcock, 1891) (off Durban; South Africa to Philippines)
• Longnose seabat Malthopsis luteus Alcock, 1891 (off Knysna; Eastern Indian ocean and Japan)
• Malthopsis mitrigera Gilbert and Cramer, 1897 (Natal to the Philippines, Japan and Hawaii)
• Spearnose seabat Malthopsis tiarella Jordan, 1902 (Natal and Japan)

Order Ophidiiformes

Ophidiiformes

Ophidiiformes is an order of ray-finned fish that includes the cusk eels , pearlfishes , brotulas , and others....

Family: Aphyonidae

Aphyonidae

Aphyonidae is a family of eel-like fishes in the order Ophidiiformes. They are found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are deep-sea fishes, living between and depth.-Description and biology:...

 — Aphyonids

• Aphyonus brevidorsalis Nielsen, 1969 (1 specimen 34°09'S, 30°45'E)
• Aphyonus gelatinosus Günther, 1878 (1 specimen off Natal, all oceans)
• ?Barathronus bicolor Goode and Bean, 1886 (off Cape Point, specimen lost, identification dubious)
• Barathronus maculatus Shcherbachev, 1976 (off Durban, northern Madagascar and Japan)

Family: Bythitidae — Bythitids or Brotulas

• Freetail brotula Bidenichthys capensis Barnard, 1934 ((East London to the Cape)
• Cataetyx chthamalorhynchus Cohen, 1981 (1 specimen off Saldanha Bay)
• Cataetyx niki Cohen, 1981 (2 specimens from off the Cape)
• Orange brotula Dermatopsoides kasougae (Smith, 1943) (Algoa bay to Port Alfred)
• Lesser orange brotula Dermatopsoides talboti Cohen, 1966 (Saldanha Bay to Algoa Bay)
• Diplacanthopoma nigripinnis Gilchrist and von Bonde, 1924 (Off Natal)
• Bighead brotula Grammonoides opisthodon (Smith, 1934) (Port Alfred and off Storms River Mouth)

Family: Carapidae — Pearlfishes

• Star pearlfish Carapus mourlani (Petit, 1934) (Indo-West Pacific south to Natal)
• Giant pearlfish Encheliophis boraborensis (Kaup 1856) (Indo-West Pacific to Natal)
• Speckled pearlfish Encheliophis gracilis (Bleeker, 1856) (Indo-West Pacific to Natal)
• Eel pearlfish Eurypleuron owasianum (Matsubara, 1953) (Japan, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, southeastern Pacific, Mozambique and South Africa)
• Pearlfish Onuxodon fowleri (Smith, 1955) (Indo-West Pacific from Durban to Hawaii)
• Oyster pearlfish Onuxodon parvibrachium (Fowler, 1927) (Indo-West Pacific south to Durban)
• Dogtooth pearlfish Pyramodon punctatus (Regan, 1914) (New Zealand, Australia and South Africa (one adult from off East London))

Family: Ophidiidae

Ophidiidae

The cusk-eels family are a group of marine bony fishes in the order Ophidiiformes. The scientific name is from Greek ophis meaning "snake", and refers to their eel-like appearance...

 — Cuskeels

• Bassogigas? gillii Goode and Bean, 1896 (1 specimen off Agulhas Bank)
• Bassozetus robustus Smith and radcliffe, 1913 (One specimen off Natal)
• Brotula multibarbata Temminck and Schlegel, 1846 (Red Sea to Port Alfred and east to central Pacific)
• Brotulataenia crassa Parr, 1934 (Tropical Atlantic off South Africa ans southwest Indian Ocean)
• Dicrolene multifilis (Alcock, 1889) (Off Table Bay and east coast of South Africa)
• Epetriodus freddyi Cohen and Nielsen, 1978 (between about 18° and 35°S in western Indian Ocean)
• Kingklip Genypterus capensis (Smith, 1847) (Walvis Bay to Algoa Bay)
• Holcomycteronus aequatorius (Smith and Radcliffe, 1913) (3 specimens from off east coast)
• False Kingklip Hoplobrotula gnathopus Regan, 1921 (Natal)
• Lamprogrammus niger Alcock, 1891 (off Natal, probably circumtropical)
• Luciobrotula bartschi (Smith and Radcliffe, 1913) (one specimen trawled off Natal; known from Hawaii, Philippines and western Indian ocean))
• Monomitopus nigripinnis (Alcock, 1889) (Eleven specimens from off Natal; several localities in Indian ocean)
• Black-edged cuskeel Neobythites analis Barnard, 1927 (Algoa Bay to Natal coast)
• Ophidion smithi (Fowler, 1934) (Red Sea to Natal)
• Penopus micropthalmus (Vaillant, 1888) (one specimen off the Cape)
• Porogadus miles Goode and bean, 1886 (One specimen off the Cape; relatively common both sides of the Atlantic; also recorded from Indian ocean)
• Selachophidium guentheri Gilchrist, 1903 (Angola to Mozambique)
• Spectrunculus grandis
  Spectrunculus grandis
  Spectrunculus grandis is a species of ray-finned fish in the cusk-eel family known by the common names pudgy cusk-eel and giant cusk-eel. It is one of two species in the formerly monotypic genus Spectrunculus, the other species, S. crassus, having been differentiated in 2008.The pudgy cusk-eel is a...
  
  (Günther, 1877) (a few specimens off west coast of South Africa; also known from Japan)

Family: Parabrotulidae — False brotulas

• Parabrotula plagiopthalma Zugmayer, 1811 (off East London; Both sides North Atlantic)

Suborder: Gonostomatoidei

Family: Gonostomatidae

Gonostomatidae

Gonostomatidae is a family of deep-water marine fish, commonly named bristlemouths, lightfishes or anglemouths. It is a relatively small family, containing only eight known genera and 32 species...

 — Bristlemouths

• Cyclothone acclinidens Garman, 1899 (off Cape Point; tropical/subtropical in all three major oceans)
• Cyclothone alba Brauer, 1906 (off Saldanha; all three major oceans)
• Cyclothone microdon (Günther, 1878) (inshore from Saldanha to Mossel Bay; All 3 major oceans)
• Cyclothone pallida Brauer, 1902 (all three major oceans)
• Cyclothone pseudopallida Mukhacheva, 1964 (Off Cape Agulhas; all three major oceans)
• Diplophos rebainsi
  Diplophos rebainsi
  Diplophos rebainsi is a bristlemouth of the family Gonostomatidae, found in the south-east and west Pacific, and the South Atlantic oceans.-References:...
  
  Krefft and Parin, 1972 (off south western Cape coast; Southern Atlantic and south-eastern Pacific Oceans)
• Diplophos teania Günther, 1873 (all three major oceans; all around SA coast)
• Gonostoma atlanticum Norman, 1930 ( 25°26'S, 38°11'E and 39°01'S, 20°04'E; tropical/subtropical all oceans)
• Gonostoma bathyphilum (Vaillant, 1886) (off Cape Point; temperate/subtropical Atlantic and Pacific oceans)
• Gonostoma denudatum Rafineque, 1810 (Temperate/subtropical Atlantic; off Southern Africa to ca. 37°S)
• Gonostoma elongatum Günther, 1878 (off Saldanha; all three major oceans)
• Margrethia obtusirostra
  Margrethia obtusirostra
  Margrethia obtusirostra is a bristlemouth of the family Gonostomatidae, found in the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific and Atlantic oceans, at depths of between 100 and 600 m...
  
  Jespersen & Tåning, 1919 (off Cape Agulhas and 25°26'S, 38°11'E; all three major oceans)
• Margrethia valentinae Parin, 1982 (off South Africa (c. 37°S, 20&de;E -20°W; probably part of Circumglobal Subtropical Convergence fauna)

Family: Phosichthyidae

Phosichthyidae

Lightfishes are small stomiiform fishes in the family PhosichthyidaeThey are very small fishes found in oceans throughout the world: most species grow no longer than 10 cm, while those in the genus Vinciguerria only reach 4 cm or so....

 — Lightfishes

• Ichthyococcus australis
  Ichthyococcus australis
  Ichthyococcus australis is a species of the genus Ichthyococcus. It is also known as Southern lightfish....
  
  Mukhacheva, 1980 (Circumglobal in subtropical convergence region of southern hemisphere with records between 30° and 40°S in Atlantic sector of our region)
• Phosichthys argenteus
  Phosichthys argenteus
  Phosichthys argenteus, a lightfish and the only member of the genus Phosichthys, is found in deep subtropical waters of all oceans, from depths of 500 to 2,000 m. Its length is between 10 and 30 cm...
  
  Hutton, 1873 (South-east Atlantic, south-east of Cape Agulhas and off Natal coast)
• Polymetme corythaeola (Alcock, 1898) (off Natal; all three major oceans)
• Vinciguerria attenuata
  Vinciguerria attenuata
  Vinciguerria attenuata is a species of Vinciguerria....
  
  (Cocco, 1838) (off Cape Point; all three major oceans)
• Vinciguerria nimbaria (Jordan and Williams, 1896) (tropical/subtropical waters in all three major oceans; East London to Delagoa Bay)

Family: Sternoptychidae

Sternoptychidae

The marine hatchetfishes or deep-sea hatchetfishes as well as the related bottlelights, pearlsides and constellationfishes are small deep-sea bathypelagic ray-finned fish of the stomiiform family Sternoptychidae...

 — Hatchetfishes

Subfamily: Maurolicinae

• Maurolicus muelleri (Gmelin, 1788) (all oceans, more common in colder regions)
• Valenciennellus tripunctatus (Esmark, 1871) (all oceans, tropical, subtropical and temperate waters)

Subfamily: Sternoptychinae

• Argyropelecus aculeatus
  Argyropelecus aculeatus
  The Lovely Hatchetfish or Atlantic Silver Hatchetfish is a species of fish in the Sternoptychidae family.-Further reading:...
  
  Valenciennes, 1849 (worldwide in tropical and temperate seas)
• Argyropelecus gigas Norman, 1930 (Southeast of Cape of Good Hope; Indian ocean to 40°S and south Atlantic to 38°S)
• Argyropelecus hemigymnus Cocco, 1829 (worldwide distribution, common on SA waters to 35°S)
• Polyipnus indicus Schultz, 1961 (east coast from 30°S to 5°N)
• Sternoptyx diaphana Hermann, 1981 (worldwide in tropical and temperate seas)
• Sternoptyx pseudodiaphana Borodulina, 1977 (Indian ocean south of 35°S; circumglobal in Southern Ocean; Benguela current)

Family: Stomiidae

Stomiidae

Stomiidae is a family of deep-sea ray-finned fish, including the barbeled dragonfishes, stareaters and loosejaws.Stomiids are generally elongated fish with black or near-black bodies, but they are highly variable in form, and are sometimes grouped into multiple different families as a result. The...

 

Subfamily: Astronesthinae — Snaggletooths

• Astronesthes boulangeri Gilchrist, 1902 (southeast of Cape Point, Circumpolar between 30° and 40°S)
• Astronesthes indicus Brauer, 1902 (Circumglobal in tropical waters, Taken between 33° and 35°S on Atlantic side)
• Astronesthes martensii Klunzinger, 1871 (Indonesia to Red Sea and south to Durban)
• Borostomias mononema (Regan and Trewavas, 1929) (mainly in tropical waters of Atlantic and Indian oceans, Reported from Atlantic side at about 28°S and from Indian ocean to about 25°S)
• Neonesthes capensis
  Neonesthes capensis
  Neonesthes capensis is a lightfish of the family Stomiidae, found in all tropical and subtropical oceans except the north Pacific, at depths of between 70 and 1,500 meters...
  
  (Gilchrist and von Bonde, 1924) (off South Africa, Subtropical/temperate waters of all oceans)

Subfamily: Idiacanthinae — Sawtail-fishes

• Ideacanthus atlanticus Brauer, 1906 (Circumglobal between about 26°S and Subtropical convergence
• Ideacanthus fasciola Peters, 1877 (off east coast and in Agulhas water pockets in eastern south Atlantic. 24°-26°S)

Subfamily: Malacosteinae — Loosejaws

• Aristostomias polydactylus Regan and Trewavas, 1930 (Taken once on Atlantic side, once on Indian ocean side of the area, occurs in all three major oceans)
• Malacosteus niger Ayres, 1848 (Tropical and subtropical in all three major oceans)

Subfamily: Melanostomiinae — Scaleless dragonfishes

• Bathophilus digitatus (Welsh, 1923) (single specimen from off Cape Town; North Atlantic, Indian and pacific oceans)
• Bathophilus longipinnus (Pappenheim, 1914) (off Cape Town; occurs widely in all three major oceans)
• Bathophilus nigerrimus Giglioli, 1884 (Off Cape Town and off Port Elizabeth to Mozambique channel)
• Echiostoma barbatum Lowe, 1843 (Southeast of Algoa Bay and off Cape Town; widespread in tropical/subtropical waters of all oceans)
• Eustomias bulbornatus Gibbs, 1960 (south and west of Cape of Good Hope; Tropical Indian and Pacific oceans)
• Eustomias filifer (Gilchrist, 1906) (off Cape Point; tropical and subtropical Atlantic)
• Eustomias grandibulbus Giibs, Clarke and Gomon, 1983 (off Cape Town)
• Eustomias lipochirus Regan and Trewavas, 1930 (2 specimens from south west of Cape of Good Hope; Tropical/subtropical Atlantic)
• Eustomias schmidti
  Eustomias schmidti
  Eustomias schmidti, more commonly known as the scaleless dragonfish, is one of the many species included in the family of Stomiidae. Despite its small size, the scaleless dragonfish is a dangerous predator in the deep oceanic waters that uses its self-generated light to attract its...
  
  Regan and Trewavas, 1930 (off Cape Town; occurs widely in all three major oceans)
• Eustomias trewavasae
  Eustomias trewavasae
  Eustomias trewavasae is a small abyssal barbeled dragonfish of the family Stomiidae, found worldwide in tropical and subtropical oceans at depths down to 1,500 m. Its length is up to 25 cm.-References:...
  
  Norman, 1930 (circumglobal between about 33° and 40°S)
• Leptostomias gladiator (Zugmayer, 1911) (Tropical, subtropical and temperate Atlantic, also Indian and Pacific oceans)
• Melanostomias bartonbeani Parr, 1927 (once off Cape Columbine; widespread in Atlantic and southern Indian oceans)
• Melanostomias niger Gilchrist and von Bonde, 1924 (widespread in Atlantic between 20° and 50°S)
• Melanostomias valdiviae Brauer, 1902 (off Cape Town and northeast of Durban; all three major oceans)
• Opostomias micripnis (Günther, 1878) (northwest of Cape Town; occurs across the Atlantic, Pacific and possibly Indian Ocean south of about 33°S) (syn. Opostomias gibsonpacei Barnard, 1948)
• Pachystomias microdon (Günther, 1878) (off Western Cape coast; widespread in all three major oceans)(Günther, 1878)
• Photonectes braueri (Zugmayer, 1913) (off Cape Town; Atlantic and western Indian ocean)
• Photonectes parvimanus Regan and Trewavas, 1930 (off west coast; north Atlantic and central Pacific)
• Trigonolampa miriceps Regan and Trewavas, 1930 (off west coast; apparently circumglobal in Southern Ocean south of 30°S)

Subfamily: Stomiinae — Scaly dragonfishes

• Macrostomias longibarbatus Brauer, 1902 (Taken once off Cape of Good Hope, Widespread in subtropical and tropical Atlantic and tropical Indian and Pacific oceans)
• Stomias boa boa (Risso, 1810) (Taken offshore throughout the area)
• Chauliodus sloani Schneider, 1801 (Taken offshore throughout the area)

Order Coelacanthiformes — Coelacanths

Family: Latimeriidae

• Coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae
  Latimeria chalumnae
  West Indian Ocean coelacanth is a species of coelacanth, known for its vivid blue pigment. It is the better known of the two extant species.-Biological characteristics:...
  
  Smith, 1939 (northern KwaZulu-Natal)

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