Biogeography of the coastal fishes of the Socotra Archipelago: Challenging current ecoregional concepts

A recent study challenges the conventional ichthyogeographic classification of the Socotra Archipelago, revealing its coastal fish fauna to be more closely affiliated with the eastern Gulf of Aden and southern Oman than previously assumed. The research, based on an analysis of 404 and 898 species from selected fish families across Arabian ecoregions, demonstrates that the Socotra Archipelago does not share strong affinities with Red Sea or western Gulf of Aden ecoregions, nor should it be grouped with them in a single marine province. Instead, it emerges as a distinct ecoregion, either standalone or combined with adjacent mainland areas, reflecting its exceptionally high marine biodiversity. The study also highlights that the Gulf of Aden lacks consistency as a unified ecoregion, with its eastern and western parts showing greater divergence than previously recognized.

Zajonz, U., Lavergne, E., Bogorodsky, S. V., & Krupp, F. (2022). Biogeography of the coastal fishes of the Socotra Archipelago: Challenging current ecoregional concepts. Plos One, 17(4), e0267086. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267086