A new Pomacanthidae in the Mediterranean Sea: Pomacanthus semicirculatus (Cuvier, 1831) from Egyptian waters

PDF
Published: Feb 10, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.39452
Keywords:
Non-indigenous species Lessepsian migrants Pomacanthidae semicircle angelfish eastern Mediterranean Sea Egypt
MARIA CORSINI-FOKA
Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. Hydrobiological Station of Rhodes, Enydreiou Square, 85131 Rhodes, Greece
OLA MOHAMED NOUR
Department of Biology and Geology, Faculty of Education, Alexandria University, 21526 Alexandria, Egypt
ALAN DEIDUN
Department of Geosciences, University of Malta, Msida MSD 2080, Malta
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6919-5374
BRUNO ZAVA
Wilderness studi ambientali, via Cruillas 27, 90146 Palermo, Italy & Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Comiso, Via degli Studi 9, 97013 Comiso (RG), Italy
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8131-0355
Abstract

The first record of Pomacanthus semicirculatus (Cuvier, 1831) in the Mediterranean Sea is reported, based on a specimen caught off Alexandria, Egypt, in November 2024. Description of the specimen, morphometric measurements and meristic characters are given. The native range of the species is the Indo-west Pacific region and its hypothesized introduction to Mediterranean Egyptian waters as a result of Lessepsian migration is plausible, pending confirmation of its occurrence within the wider region through additional records.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Short Communication

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Adel, M., Nour, O.M., Al Mabruk, S.A.A., Zava, B., Deidun, A. et al., 2022. The yellowfin surgeonfish Acanthurus xanthopterus Valenciennes, 1835 (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Acanthuridae) from Mediterranean Egyptian waters. Mediterranean Marine Science, 23 (1), 134-139.
Akel, E.S.H.Kh.,, 2020. Fisheries status of the trawlers bycatch from Alexandria, Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, 24 (2), 83-106.
Al Mabruk, S.A.A., Abdulghani, A., Nour, O.M., Adel, M., Crocetta, F. et al., 2021. The role of social media in compensating for the lack of field studies: Five new fish species for Mediterranean Egypt. Journal of Fish Biology, 99, 673-678.
Burgess, W.E., 2002. Pomacanthidae, Angelfishes. p. 1673- 1683. In: FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals. Carpenter, K.E. (Ed.). FAO, Rome.
Corsini-Foka, M., Zava, B., 2022. Second occurrence of Siganus javus (Linnaeus, 1766) in the Mediterranean waters. Annales, Series Historia Naturalis, 32 (2), 287-292.
Debelius, H., 2011. Red Sea reef guide. IKAN-unterwasserarchiv, Frankfurt, Germany, 321 pp.
Farrag, M.M.S., El-Naggar, H.A., Abou-Mahmoud, M.M.A., Alabssawy A.N., Ahmed H.O. et al., 2019. Marine biodiversity patterns off Alexandria area, southeastern Mediterranean Sea, Egypt. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 191, 367.
Froese, R., Pauly, D. (Eds), 2024. FishBase.World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, (06/2024) (Accessed on 18/11/2024).
Galanidi, M., Aissi, M., Ali, M., Bakalem, A., Bariche, M. et al., 2023. Validated Inventories of Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) for the Mediterranean Sea as Tools for Regional Policy and Patterns of NIS Spread. Diversity, 15 (9), 962.
Galil, B.S., 2023. A Sea, a Canal, a Disaster: The Suez Canal and the Transformation of the Mediterranean Biota. p. 1899-215. In: The Suez Canal: Past Lessons and Future Challenges. Lutmar, C., Rubinovitz, Z. (Eds.), Palgrave Studies in Maritime Politics and Security.
Galil, B.S., Marchini, A., Occhipinti-Ambrogi, A., Ojaveer, H., 2017. The enlargement of the Suez Canal-Erythraean introductions and management challenges. Management of Biological Invasions, 8, 141-152.
Galil, B.S., Mienis, H.K., Hoffman, R., Goren, M., 2021. Non-indigenous species along the Israeli Mediterranean coast: tally, policy, outlook. Hydrobiologia, 848, 2011-2029.
Golani, D., 2010. Colonization of the Mediterranean by Red Sea fishes via the Suez Canal – Lessepsian migration. p. 145-188. In: Fish Invasions of the Mediterranean Sea: Change and Renewal. Golani, D., Appelbaum-Golani, B. (Eds). Pensoft Publishers, Sofia–Moscow.
Golani, D., Bogorodsky, S.V., 2010. The Fishes of the Red Sea– Reappraisal and Updated Checklist. Zootaxa, 2463, 1-135.
Golani, D, Fricke, R., 2018. Checklist of the Red Sea Fishes with delineation of the Gulf of Suez, Gulf of Aqaba, endemism and Lessepsian migrants. Zootaxa, 4509, 1-215.
Golani, D., Azzurro, E., Dulčić, J., Massutí, E., Orsi-Relini, L., 2021. Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea. Briand, F. (Ed.), 2nd Edn. CIESM Publishers, Paris, 365 pp.
Halim, Y., Rizkalla, S., 2011. Aliens in Egyptian Mediterranean waters. A check-list of Erythrean fish with new records. Mediterranean Marine Science, 12 (2), 479-490.
Heemstra, P.C., 2022. Family Pomacanthidae, Angelfishes. p. 431-442. In: Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean. Vol. 3. Heemstra, P.C., Heemstra, E., Ebert, D., Holleman, W., Randall, J.E. (Eds). South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Makhanda, South Africa.
Mehanna, S.F., Osman, Y.A., 2022. First record of the Lessepsian Sammara Squirrelfish, Neoniphon sammara (Forsskal, 1775), in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters. Mediterranean Marine Science, 23 (3), 664-667.
Nour, O.M., Al Mabruk, S.A.A., Zava, B., Deidun, A., Corsini- Foka, M., 2021. Records of new and rare alien fish in North African waters: the burrowing goby Trypauchen vagina (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) and the bartail flathead Platycephalus indicus (Linnaeus, 1758) in Egypt and the cobia Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1766) in Libya. BioInvasions Records, 10 (4), 914-923.
Nour, O.M., Al Mabruk, S.A.A., Zava, B., Gianguzza, P., Corsini- Foka, M. et al., 2022a. First record of Naso annulatus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825) and further records of Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus, 1766) and Charybdis (Charybdis) natator (Herbst, 1794) in the Mediterranean Sea. BioInvasions Records, 11 (3), 785-795.
Nour, O.M., Al Mabruk, S.A.A., Khodary, Z., Zava, B., Deidun, A. et al., 2022b. First reports of the Sohal surgeonfish, Acanthurus sohal (Forsskål, 1775) (Actinopterygii, Acanthuridae), and the Violet-eyed swimming crab, Carupa tenuipes Dana, 1852 (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae), from North African waters. BioInvasions Records, 11 (4), 1067-1077.
Por, F.D., 1990. Lessepsian migration. An appraisal and new data. Bulletin de l’Institute Océanographique, Monaco, 7, 1-10. Pyle, R., 2001. Pomacanthidae, Angelfishes. p. 3266-3286. In: FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 5. Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae). Carpenter, K.E., Niem, V.H. (Eds).
FAO, Rome. Pyle, R., Myers, R., Rocha, L.A., Craig, M.T., 2010. Pomacanthus semicirculatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T165851A6148505.
Ragheb, E., 2022. Morphometric and meristic characteristics of the first record Fistularia petimba (Lacepède, 1803) and Fistularia commersonii (Rüppell, 1838) (Pisces: Fistulariidae) from the Egyptian Mediterranean waters (West Alexandria). Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research, 48, 143-150.
Ragheb, E., Akel, E.S.H.Kh., Kamal, R.M., Hasan, M.W.A., 2022. Species diversity of gillnet catches along the Egyptian Mediterranean coast of Alexandria. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research, 48, 281-289.
Rizkalla, S.I., Heneish, R.A., 2021. The update of immigrant Red Sea fish of Egyptian Mediterranean waters during (2013-2021). Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, 25 (5), 739-753.
Sommer, C., Schneider, W., Poutiers, J.-M., 1996. FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of Somalia. FAO, Rome, 376 pp.
Most read articles by the same author(s)