Andrea Spinelli

• PhD in Applied Biology and Experimental Medicine
• Researcher at Fundación Oceanogràfic

This collective study presents information on fifteen (15) species recorded across five countries (Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, and Türkiye) and four (4) ecoregions, ranging from the Alboran Sea to the Aegean Sea. The recorded species belong to three phyla: Mollusca (3 species), Arthropoda (3 species), and Chordata (9 species). Among mollusks, M...

This collective article presents new information about 15 introduced taxa belonging to five phyla: one Rhodophyta, one Chlorophyta, one Mollusca, one Annelida, two Arthropoda, and nine Chordata (one Ascidiacea and eight Osteichthyes). The records refer to eight Mediterranean countries and extend from the Alboran Sea to the Levantine Sea as follows:...

The rapid spread of the protozoan Haplosporidium pinnae is having a strong negative effect on Pinna nobilis populations. A case study on a residual population in Lake Faro (Sicily, Central Mediterranean), whose long-term monitoring has revealed a dramatic decline following the 2018–2020 mass mortality event, is presented. In the framework of such m...

According to UNEP and FAO reports, the fishing nets abandoned in the seas around the world represent approximately 10% of the plastic waste present in the oceans. These nets, also called ghost nets, can be degraded over time, releasing microplastics and contaminating the environment. Studying the presence and amount of microplastics in an area impa...

Simple Summary This study describes the composition, abundance, spatial distribution and differences in day/night vertical distribution of ichthyoplankton in the southern Adriatic Sea. Samples were collected from 9 to 18 May 2013, in multiple layers from near the seabed to the surface by the electronic multinet EZ-NET BIONESS (Bedford Institute of...

Penaeus aztecus Ives 1891, commonly known as the brown shrimp, is a well-established invasive alien species of Atlantic origin in the Mediterranean Sea. Here we report on the presence of the species in the Balearic Sea, eastern Mediterranean coast of Spain, where seven specimens were caught in 2023 (February, May and July). Our records represent th...

Citation: Tiralongo, F.; Pappalardo, A.M.; Ignoto, S.; Lombardo, B.M.; Ferrito, V.; Campos Sosa, A.; Spinelli, A. The African Striped Grunt, Parapristipoma octolineatum Abstract: The Mediterranean Sea biodiversity is undergoing a rapid reshaping due to different factors, many of which are directly related to human activities (e.g., pollution, habit...

This Collective Article presents new information about the occurrence of 23 marine taxa that belong to five Phyla: two Chlorophyta, one Annelida, six Mollusca, three Arthropoda, eleven Chordata (one Ascidiacea, one Elasmobranchii and nine Teleostei) and extending from the Western Mediterranean to the Levantine Sea. All these records were reported f...

This Collective article reports 17 introduced species and 22 new locations for these species in the Mediterranean Sea. The reports are from three different Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) subregions (Aegean-Levantine Sea, Adriatic Sea and Western Mediterranean Sea) and the Sea of Marmara and cover ten different countries. The goal of con...

Considering the rapid diffusion and potential impacts of invasive non-indigenous species on biodiversity, it is crucial to investigate invasion mechanisms to identify their spread, settlement, and expansion areas. Enchelycore anatina, the Atlantic fangtooth moray of uncertain introduction pathway, recently invaded the eastern Mediterranean Sea. In...

This article includes 23 new records of alien and cryptogenic species in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to 4 Phyla (Chordata, Echinodermata, Arthropoda and Mollusca), distributed from the Alboran to the Levantine Sea. Records are reported from eight countries listed from West to East as follows: Algeria: new records of the Atlantic blue crab Call...

A devastating mass mortality event (MME) very likely caused by the protozoan Haplosporidium pinnae first detected in 2016 in the Western Mediterranean Sea, is pushing the endemic bivalve Pinna nobilis to near extinction. Populations recovery, if possible, will rely on larval dispersal from unaffected sites and potential recolonization through recru...

This paper is a collection of novel distributional records of 20 species belonging to 8 phyla (Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, Cni-daria, Ctenophora, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda and Chordata) from 11 Mediterranean countries, namely, Spain: an additional record of the Canary dentex Dentex canariensis is reported from Spain (Valencia), this is the northe...

Two specimens of the Grant's rockling Gaidropsarus granti (Regan, 1903) were caught in the Ionian Sea, just south of the Strait of Messina (Italy) in December 2016. Their body colouration pattern is consistent with that reported in the literature for this species. These specimens were described and illustrated.

The ecology and distribution of Pomatoschistus bathi are discussed on the basis of the first record from central-south Italy. A comparison with the co-generic and apparently similar P. tortonesei, indicated the two species are ecologically distinct and their areal does not overlap. The present record, from an area whose surface waters are cooled by...

This study reports the returning of the seahorse in the Faro Lake and the most recent finding in a brackish coastal Mediterranean lagoon. After about 50 years from the first documented occurrence of Hippocampus hippocampus (Linnaeus, 1758) within the "Capo Peloro Lagoons", North East Sicily, two adult specimens were observed alive in 2015. During t...

This Collective Article presents information on 37 taxa belonging to 6 Phyla and extending from the western Mediterranean to the Levantine Sea. The new records were found in 10 countries as follows: Algeria: first reports on the presence of the fish species Lesueurigobius sanzi, L. friesii, L. suerii and Luvarus imperiali; France: first record of t...

Marine organisms represent a valuable source of new compounds. The biodiversity of the marine environment and the associated chemical diversity constitute a practically unlimited source of new active substances in the field of the development of bioactive products (El-Amraoui et al., 2010). Marine sponges have been considered as a very fertile fiel...

The fan mussel Pinna nobilis is threatened by several anthropogenic disturbances that are only partially mitigated by current conservation measures. In the Faro Lake Natural Reserve, the fan mussel population suffers from insufficient recruitment while, due to periodic dredging, a high larval supply within the canals does not support a stable popul...

Marine organisms represent an enormous reservoir of compounds with many potential applications. Microbes, vegetals and animals from the sea have been exploited for numerous purposes. From seaweeds, in particular, many active compounds can be obtained, such as three important phycocolloids: agar, carrageenan and algin. In this report, an overview is...

In this reply, we address the criticism directed recently to our work (Malaquias et al. 2016) by Galil et al. (2016) dismissing the hypothesis that the Suez Canal can act as a revolving door allowing marine species to move both ways between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. We reiterate that the presence in the Red Sea of the Indo-West Pacific...

A census of the “opisthobranch” fauna in the Faro Lake and connected canals (NE Sicily) has been realized by photo documentation and specimen samplings, carried out monthly from February 2010 to the present. A total of 47 species have been reported, nine of which are cited in the historic and recent literature (from 1969 to 2016) vs. 38 first recor...

The fan mussel Pinna nobilis (Linnaeus, 1758) is one of the biggest bivalves worldwide. Currently, no updated information is available in the literature concerning the morpho-functional aspects of haemocytes from this bivalve species. Consequently, in this study, we characterised P. nobilis haemocytes from both a morphological and functional point...

Two confined populations of an inadequately known gobiid, Millerigobius macrocephalus (Kolombatović, 1891), new species for Italy, have been reported for the protected areas of “Capo Peloro Lagoon” and “Marinello Lakes”, NE Sicily. The specimens found were described and illustrated. Additional data were provided on the habitat preferences of this f...

The number of tropical species established in the Mediterranean Sea has risen at an unprecedented rate in the last 40–50 years, often entering the basin from the Red Sea and to a lesser extent by shipping or mariculture. The taxonomic identity of these alien species can be difficult to determine and DNA barcoding can help to clarify the status of q...

In this Collective Article on “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records”, we present additional records of species found in the Mediterranean Sea. These records refer to eight different countries throughout the northern part of the basin, and include 28 species, belonging to five phyla. The findings per country include the following species: Spain: C...

The Mediterranean endemic Knipowitschia panizzae (Verga 1841) has been recorded in the protected area of “Capo Peloro Lagoon”, north-eastern Sicily, and 12 specimens have been collected. The record represents the first finding of the Adriatic dwarf goby in Sicily and the most southern one in the Mediterranean Sea. This record significantly extends...

Pinna nobilis L., 1758, è una specie di mollusco che negli ultimi decenni è stata profondamente minacciata, principalmente a causa del degrado del suo ambiente naturale. Poiché le attuali popolazioni di P. nobilis sono in evidente declino (Centoducati et al. 2007), la stessa è soggetta a rigorosa tutela, in quanto specie in via di estinzione, sotto...