Abstract

Expedition Pakaihi I Te Moana was conducted in 2011 to the Marquesas Islands, lying between 07°50ʹ S and 10°35ʹ S latitude and 138°25ʹ W and 140°50ʹ W longitude. The expedition combined extensive col-lections and visual censuses of the shore fish fauna. A total of 74 species are added as new records for the Marquesas Islands; the coastal fish fauna of the Marquesas Islands is increased from 415 to 495 species and the number of endemic species is increased from 48 to 68 species. This increases the per-centage of species-level endemism for the Marquesas Islands to 13.7%, ranking as the third highest region of endemism for coral reef fishes in the Indo-Pacific. Only two other peripheral regions, the Hawai’ian Islands and Easter Island, have higher values.