Westward spreading of the Pope’s ponyfish Equulites popei in the Mediterranean: new occurrences from Antalya Bay with emphasis on its abundance and distribution

01/02/2020 Arda Tonay

Westward spreading of the Pope’s ponyfish Equulites popei in the Mediterranean: new occurrences from Antalya Bay with emphasis on its abundance and distribution

Sinan Mavruk, Olgaç Güven, Kerem Gökdağ, Michel Bariche

Cukurova University, Faculty of Fisheries, 01330, Balcali/Adana, TURKEY
Akdeniz University, Faculty of Fisheries, 07070, Antalya, TURKEY
Department of Biology, American University of Beirut, 11-0236 Beirut, LEBANON

Abstract 

The Pope’s ponyfish Equulites popei (Whitley, 1932) is a marine fish native to the wide Indo-Pacific area and is considered an alien species in the Mediterranean Sea. A total of 10 individuals were collected, in May 2019, from Antalya Bay (Turkey, northwestern Levant Basin). These records represent the westernmost occurrence of the fish in the Mediterranean Sea. We also provide information on its catch per unit area (27 ind.km-2) and the maximum depth of its occurrence (150 m) in the Mediterranean Sea.

Keywords: Leiognathidae, alien species, Levant Basin, maximum depth, range expansion

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