The fish family Muraenidae: an ideal group for testing at small-scale the coherency of Macaronesia as a biogeographic unit, with the first report on separate fishery statistics

Abstract

The present study was conceptualized to study the muraenid species (moray eels) occurring around the volcanic archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary and Cabo Verde islands (eastern-central Atlantic). The biogeographic patterns of these species were analysed and compared. We then hypothesized that this fish family is an ideal group for testing at small-scale the coherency of Macaronesia and its direct biogeographic units: i.e. the Azores, Webbnesia and Cabo Verde, as proposed in recent scientific literature. Additionally, this paper provides for the first time separate fishery statistics for this group in the region that were analysed to contrast the biogeographic results.

Ciguatoxin Detection in Flesh and Liver of Relevant Fish Species from the Canary Islands

“…In addition, these species are widely distributed across the globe. Black moray eels (Muraena helena) mainly inhabit in the Macaronesia region [9], with a great economic value in the Azores Islands, Madeira, and the Cape Verde archipelago [10]. Dusky groupers can be found in many regions of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Western of the Indian Ocean [11], with a special huge economic interest in the Mediterranean area [12].…”