Systematic and Ecological Notes on Some Fishes Collected in the Vicinity of Tortuguero, Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica

Abstract

The fishes listed in this report represent collections made primarily by Ogren and Giovannoli while they were in Costa Rica during the summers of 1956-58 and 1955, respectively, as University of Florida Research A-ssistants engag­ed in a study of the ecology and migrations of sea turtles (National Science Foun­dation Grants G-1684 and G-5479, University of Florida-Principal Investigator, Archie Carr). A few additional specimens, designated in the following annotated list, were taken by others who were at Tortuguero during the months Ogren and Giovannoli were collecting. Since the specimens were taken during only one season of the year, with limited equipment, and only incidental to the turtle work, this list is not intended as a presentation of the entire fish fauna of the area. However, the locality is isolated, and knowledge of some of the fish species augments what is known of the ecology and ranges of fishes known to occur in neighboring or distant countries to the north or south. This is particularly true of the marine species, as practically nothing has been written concerning their actual occurrence in Caribbean Costa Rican waters.