Linking adults and immatures of South African marine fishes.

The early life-history stages of fishes are poorly known, impeding acquisition of the identifications needed to monitor larval recruitment and year-class strength. A comprehensive database of COI sequences, linked to authoritatively identified voucher specimens, promises to change this situation, representing a significant advance for fisheries science. Barcode records were obtained from 2526 early larvae and pelagic eggs of fishes collected on the inshore shelf within 5 km of the KwaZulu-Natal coast, about 50 km south of Durban, South Africa.

Caesio xanthalytos, a new species of fusilier (Perciformes: Caesionidae) from the Western Indian Ocean, with records of range extensions for several species of Caesionidae.

Caesio xanthalytos, a new species of fusilier, closely related to Caesio caerulaurea Lacepède 1801, is described from several specimens from various localities on the east coast of Africa, and from southern Madagascar. While very similar in colour pattern to C. caerulaurea, its lateral line lies within a dominant, composite yellow stripe, whereas in C.

DNA barcoding reveals overlooked marine fishes.

With more than 15 000 described marine species, fishes are a conspicuous, diverse and increasingly threatened component of marine life. It is generally accepted that most large-bodied fishes have been described, but this conclusion presumes that current taxonomic systems are robust. DNA barcoding, the analysis of a standardized region of the cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene (COI), was used to examine patterns of sequence divergence between populations of 35 fish species from opposite sides of the Indian Ocean, chosen to represent differing lifestyles from inshore to offshore.