Itsoundzou is the National marine parc for the primitive coelacanthe fish of Comoro island
Coelacanthe is known to be the ancester of all vertebrate, it is a living fossil only in the water of Comoros islands
There is the observatory quater with the main office managed by the village association as ecogarde for the area
Underwater observations of the coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae Smith, 1939, from a research submersible provided opportunities to study the deep demersal fish fauna at the Comoro Islands. The demersal habitat in depths of 150–400 m at the volcanic island of Ngazidja is low in fish diversity and biomass, compared with the shallow-water coral reef habitat of Ngazidja or the deep demersal habitats of other localities in the Indo-Pacific region. The resident deep demersal fish fauna at Ngazidja is dominated by the coelacanth, an ancient predator that is specially adapted for this low-energy environment. Other large fish predators are scarce in this environment, because of the heavy fishing pressure from local fishermen. Eighty-nine fish taxa (including 65 recognizable species) were recorded from videotapes, photographs, visual observations, fishermen’s catches and ancillary attempts to sample the fish fauna with baited fish traps, gill nets, and hook and line. Although no coelacanth feeding events were seen, seven fish species are known from coelacanth stomach contents, and 64 other fish species in this habitat are considered potential prey of this dominant predator.
It is also a big spot site for other fishes that occur in the the coelacanths’ habitat. Most of these
cohabitants are potential prey for Latimeria, several are competi-
tors, and a few may be predators of the coelacanth (Table 1).
Collecting fishes, especially small cryptic species, from deep,
rough-bottom habitat is a challenging enterprise; consequently,
muchofthis deep demersalfishfauna ispoorly knownor undes-
cribed.1Some of the fishes seen, videotaped, photographed or
caught by us with traps or hook and line represent new records
for the Comoros. Several species not previously reported from
depths greater than 50 m are here documented at depths greater
than 150 m. The purpose of this paper is to present a preliminary
analysis of the fish fauna in the deep demersal habitat of the
coelacanth and to discuss the ecological and zoogeographical
relationships of these species.
Demersal fish include sedentary benthic fish that rest on the
bottom, such as skates and rays, flatfish (flounders, soles, etc.),
