Abstract
First record of Pseudanthias bicolor (Serranidea) from different artificial habitats at Reunion Island.Despite the large number of studies on fish populations of coral reef areas of Reunion island during the past forty years, the bicolor anthias Pseudanthias bicolor (Randall, 1979), previously recorded from Mauritius and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, was never observed on the coral reefs of the island. Recently, two specimens of were photographed on different artificial habitats during scientific monitoring programs in scuba diving. This study, based en morphologic and morphometric evidences, validates the identification of these specimens as P. bicolor, and therefore represents the westernmost record of the species in the Indian Ocean. In a general context of degradation of coral reef habitats and considering the difficult access to certain non-reef habitats (e.g. depth, large surface area, distance from a port), the example of P. bicolor presented in this study illustrates the importance of artificial habitats for the observation of marine fish diversity. These small habitats of substitution, often monitored according to European regulations, allow occasional identification of new fish species, monitoring of exotic invasive populations or observation of rare species.