An Annotated Checklist of the Fishes of Samoa 



RICHARD C. WASS 1 



ABSTRACT 



All fishes currently known from the Samoa Islands are listed by their scientific and Samoan names. Species en- 

 tries are annotated to include the initial Samoan distributional record, synonyms used in earlier publications dealing 

 with Samoan fishes, and comments relating to taxonomy, ecology, and distribution. New species records resulting 

 from recent collections by the author and others are included. Brief diagnoses are provided for undescribed and 

 unidentified species. The list totals 991 species representing 113 families; 284 of the species are previously unrecorded 

 from Samoa and 38 of the entries are unconfirmed records derived mostly from 19th century publications. 



INTRODUCTION 



The need to update and consolidate existing lists and records of 

 Samoan fishes as a basis for biological study and resource 

 management became evident while the author was engaged in ex- 

 tensive collection efforts during 1974-79. The present list of all 

 known inshore and pelagic surface species is an attempt to meet 

 this need. 



GEOGRAPHY AND PHYSIOGRAPHY 



The Samoa Islands consist of a chain of 10 islands located at 

 lat. 14° S and ranging from long. 168° to 173° W. From east to 

 west the islands are generally of increasing size and more recent 

 geological origin. Rose Island, at the easternmost end of the 

 chain, is a low coral atoll. The islands to the west are high and of 

 basaltic composition. They are divided politically into Western 

 Samoa, comprised principally of the two largest and westernmost 

 islands of Savai 'i and Upolu, and American Samoa comprised of 

 Tutuila, Aunu'u, Ofu, Olosega, Ta'u, and Rose Islands. 2 



The collections upon which the present paper is based were 

 made primarily around Tutuila at the midpoint of the Samoan ar- 

 chipelago. Fishes were also collected at Rose and Upolu where ef- 

 fort was concentrated in habitats not well developed around 

 Tutuila. 



The southern coast of Tutuila is bordered by a more or less con- 

 tinuous fringing reef flat which is partially exposed at low tide. 

 Four prominent bays indent the coastline. Pago Pago Bay is the 

 largest and is bordered by the most populous and developed area 

 of the island. Port facilities, cannery and domestic wastes, and 

 shoreline runoff contribute toward a considerable decline in water 

 quality within the bay (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 3 ). Pala 

 Lagoon is a shallow, mangrove-fringed bay with limited circula- 

 tion. Its waters are turbid and polluted with human and 

 agricultural wastes (Helfrich et al. 1975). Larsen and Fagatele 

 Bays are deep and exposed to wind and swell. Their water quality 



Office of Marine Resources. American Samoa Government, Pago Pago, 

 American Samoa 96799. 



'Swains Island, located at lat. 11 °S and long. 171 °W, is also governed by 

 American Samoa. Geographically, however, it belongs with the Tokelau Islands 

 so its fishes will not be considered herein. 



TJ.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 1979. Baseline water quality survey in 

 American Samoa, American Samoa water resources study, 117 p. Report 

 prepared by M & E Pacific, Inc. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Shafter, 

 Honolulu, HI 96858. 



is high and their marine habitats are relatively pristine. A sub- 

 marine ridge 2-3 km offshore and shoaling to 15 m parallels much 

 of the southern coast. Reef flats are a less conspicuous feature of 

 the northern coast of Tutuila and are limited primarily to the inner 

 margins of bays and coves. Steeply sloping basaltic terrain 

 characterizes the exposed shoreline and the bottom drops rapidly 

 to depths of 30 m or more. 



The fish fauna of Tutuila is characteristic of the entire ar- 

 chipelago though physiographic differences do result in minor 

 variation. Upolu has greater freshwater runoff, more extensive 

 mangrove estuaries, wider reef flats, and deep sandy lagoons in- 

 side the reef. Rose Atoll has no basaltic substrate or freshwater 

 runoff. 



LITERATURE REVIEW 



Samoan fishes have been collected and studied since 1840 when 

 Hombron and Jacquinot (1853) described Diagramma gibbosus 

 from Apia, Western Samoa. The Museum Godeffroy Catalogs 

 (Schmeltz 1865-79) and Giinther's ( 1873-1910) Fische der Sudsee 

 include many early references to Samoan fishes. Other significant 

 19th century studies are summarized by Jordan and Seale (1906) 

 who noted that 164 fishes were recorded from Samoa by 1902. 



Their Fishes of Samoa lists 475 species for the archipelago and 

 is the first comprehensive survey of Samoan ichthyofauna. It is 

 based on a collection of fishes made in 1902 by David S. Jordan 

 and Vernon L. Kellogg under the sponsorship of the U.S. Bureau 

 of Fisheries. Steindachner (1906), Fowler and Silvester (1922), 

 Fowler (1925, 1932, 1940), Jordan (1927), and Seale (1935) 

 recorded additional fishes from Samoa. 



A second extensive listing of Samoan fishes is found in Fishes 

 of the Phoenix and Samoan Islands by Leonard P. Schultz (1943). 

 While most of Jordan and Kellogg's fishes were collected around 

 Upolu, the 270 species that Schultz collected were taken from 

 Tutuila, Ta'u, and Rose. He listed 171 additional species 

 deposited at the U.S. National Museum by earlier collectors in- 

 cluding the Wilkes Exploring Expedition and Jordan and Kellogg 

 for a total of 441. Schultz included keys for the identification of 

 Samoan fishes though most are superseded by the more recent 

 and comprehensive keys in his Fishes of the Marshall and 

 Marianas Islands (Schultz et al. 1953, 1960, 1966). 



A complete listing of the taxonomic literature pertaining to Sa- 

 moan fishes through 1945 is given by Fowler (1928, 1931a, 1934, 

 1949). Additional fishes have subsequently been recorded from 

 Samoa in species descriptions and generic revisions, but tax- 



