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Contents Page
RED SEA ENDEMIC FISHES AND RED SEA FORMS
The Red Sea is host to a number of endemic fishes (species that are native to the Red Sea) - there are something like 170 species which are endemic. This figure cannot be precise since new species are still being discovered, and our knowledge of the distribution of species is not complete. Access to the coastal waters of Saudi Arabia, which forms a major portion of the Red Sea coast has always been difficult and hinders efforts to improve our knowledge of the Sea. There are a number of species in the Red Sea which have different colour forms to their cousins in the Indo-pacific region - in some cases species names are extended in recognition of the difference.
This is a photographic listing of the most common currently known endemics, and brief details on where they may be found (some Red Sea species are only found within certain areas of the Red Sea) and some relevant characteristics of the species. The photographs were all taken around Jeddah, unless otherwise stated.
Species are listed alphabetically by common family name, i.e. blenny, grouper, snapper etc. etc.. I shall replace photos as I obtain better ones, so please bear with me. If there are gaps in the list it means that we have not yet found the species - but, we are always looking, and hope eventually to have a near-complete list !
The photos are very low resolution - this is a free web site and I need to be thrifty with bits and bytes ! (or find a sponsor !).
