Deep-sea fishes from Senghor Seamount and the adjacent abyssal plain (Eastern Central Atlantic)

Senghor Seamount is an important fishing ground around the Cape Verde archipelago in the Eastern Central Atlantic. On an experimental field survey in October 2009 and December 2011, a total of 115 deep-sea fishes of 26 species belonging to 18 families were caught on the seamount summit, along the slopes and on the adjacent abyssal plane, using longlines, fish traps, beam trawl and otter trawl. Here we report seven new records for the Cape Verde deep-sea fish fauna. Most species are known from other areas of the Atlantic Ocean, but our findings are an important contribution to our understanding of the distribution of deep-water fish species. The co-occurrence of northern and southern Atlantic ichthyofauna components at Senghor Seamount, and the Cape Verde area in general, can be attributed to the large-scale hydrographic regime with two water masses merging at the Cape Verde Frontal Zone, the North Atlantic Central Water and the South Atlantic Central Water.