| The carangid fishes are distributed mainly in the warm and temperate waters, but may range under the influence of the warm currents to areas of higher latitude. They are most abundant in the 1ndo-West-Pacific region.
The carangid fishes of China are well represented by 4 subfamilies, 166 genera and 70 species. The subfamily Caranginae is best represented, having 10 genera and 50 species, all of which are found in the South China Sea, 7 genera and 16 species range to the East China Sea, and 6 genera and 10 species to the Huanghai Sea. SecondIy, it is the subfamily Chorineminae which has 1 genus and 10 species, all occurring in the South China Sea. In the third place, the subfamily Seriolinae is represented by 4 genera and 6 species, all occurring in the South China Sea, 3 genera and 5 species in the East China Sea, only 1 genus and 3 species in the Huanghai Sea. The representation of the subfamily Trachinotinae is very weak， with only 1 genus and 4 species, all inhabiting in the South China Sea, and only a single species ranging to the East China Sea and Huanghai Sea.
According to the thermal adaptation of the species, the Chinese carangid fishes may be grouped into 2 types, viz., the warm-water and the warm-temperate species. The warm-water species are abundant, having 58 species (83% of the total); the warm-temperate species are rather few, with only 12 species (17%).
According to the geographical range of the species, the Chinese carangid fishes may be referred to 4 types: (1) the circumtropical-subtropical type, with 15 species (21% of the total); (2) the Indo-West-Pacific type, with 38 species (54%); (3) theWest-Pacific type, with 9 species (13 % ); (4) the endemic type, with 8 species (12 % ).
Due to the relative prevalence and seasonal variation of the warm currents, the number of species found along the coastal waters of China decreases with the increase in latitude. Among the 70 species of China, aI1 are found in the South China Sea, 22 in the East China Sea (31%) , and 14 in the Huanghai Sea (20%).
The fauna of carangid fishes of China is closely related to that of the neighbouring couutries. There are 50 species commonly distributed in China and 1ndonesia, 48 species in China and Japan, 45 species in China and Philippines and 18 species in China and Korea. There are 2 species confined in distribution to both China and Japan, 3 species confined in distribution to China, Korea, Japan and USSR. There are 8 endemic species in China, 10 in Indonesia, 3 in Philippines, 6 in Japan, and none in Korea. |
