Note on an extension of the known ranges of distribution of some species of Clinidae (Pisces)

Recent studies of the shore fishes of northern Namaqua1and and South West Africa have greatly extended the ranp of distribution of four species of Clinidae (kliptishes). The known ranges of the four species discussed are now as follows: Ble1llWphis anguil/aris: Liideritz-East London; Ophthlllmolophus venustris: Liideritz-Port Alfred; Ble1lilloc/inus brachycepluzlus: Liideritz---Kei River Mouth; Pavoclinus pavo: Liideritz-Kei River Mouth. Recently members of the Marine Biology Department of the South African Museum undertook an expedition to South West Atrica and the north coast of Namaqualand to collect shore fishes. Two localities in South West Africa and one on the north coast of Namaqualand were visited. A few days during which intensive collecting was carried out were spent at each locality, and as many biologically different types of rock pool as possible were fished. The northern area, Swakopmund, situated in the Namib desert twenty miles north of Walvis Bay, showed a very poor intertidal fish fauna, Clinus superciJiosus (Linnaeus) and the Cape blenny,BJennius cornutus Linnaeus, being the· only two common species. The latter was found to be far more common at Swakopmund than it is further south, about the Cape. A visit to some rocks just north of Walvis Bay showed the position there to be the same as at Swakopmund. At Liideritz, in the southern part of the Namib desert about 282 miles south of Swakopmund along the coast, and at Port Nolloth, 54 miles south of the Orange River mouth and 496 miles south of Swakopmund the intertidal fish faunas were found to be far richer. Eight of the 27 species of Clinidae recognized by Smith 3 were recorded from these localities. The eight species were: Clinus superciJiosus (Linnaeus), OphthalmoJophus anne (Smith), OphthaJmolphus acuminotus (Cuvier), OphthaJmolophus venustris (Gi~hrist and Thompson), BJennophis anguiIJaris (Cuvier), MuraenocJinus dorsaJis (Bleeker), BJenniocJinus brachycephaJus (Cuvier), and PavocJinus pavo (Gilchrist and Thompson). Of these, CJinus superciJiosus, OphthaJmoJophus anne, OphthaJmoJophus acuSouth African Journal of Science 423 Mary-Louise Penrith minatus, and MuraenocJinus dorsaJis had been recorded from South West Africa before.1,B,BJennophis anguiIJaris had previously been recorded as far north as Port Nolloth 8. Early in 1962 .the Zoology Department of the University of Cape Town collected one small specimen at Liideritz. Eleven specimens were taken at Liideritz during the recent expedition, the largest measuring 221 mm. Most of the specimens were large, and were taken in the lowest pools accessible at low water of spring tides. As this species appears to be more common on the coast west of the Cape Peninsula than from False Bay eastwards, its occurrence at Liideritz was not unexpected. Smith 3 gives the range of distribution of OphthalmoJophus venustris as 'Fals~ Bay to Port Alfred, entirely east of Cape Point. There are, however, unpublished records of this species from the coast west of the Cape Peninsula both in the ecological collection of the University of Cape Town Zoology Department (Oudekraal and Sea Point) and in the South African Musuem (Sea Point, Saldanha Bay and southern Namaqualand). During the recent expedition 12 specimens were collected at Liideritz and two at Port Nolloth, suggesting that this is another species which may be more common on the west coast, since Smith 3 describes it as rare within its eastern range of distribution. BJenniOcJinus brachycephaJus was previous-ly known to occur from False Bay to the Kei River 3. It is fairly common within this range, but tends to have a very patchy distribution, being extremely common in certain localities and almost lacking in others. There is a record of this species from Melkbosstrand, on the north-western coast of the Cape Peninsula, in the ecological collection of the University of Cape Town Zoology Department, but apart from this isolated record this species has apparently never been taken on the west coast. It was, therefore, surprising to collect 12 specimens at Liideritz. All the specimens were taken from a single group of pools close to the crayfish factory at the mouth of the lagoon. The pools were exposed