Bruno Zava

Addressing the challenges posed by Non Indigenous Species (NIS) demands coordinated efforts across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. In this study, we used the Italian research network as a case study to identify and evaluate measures designed to enhance NIS research through a structured, interactive, and expert-driven strategy. The p...

The wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri (Cuvier, 1832), an uncommon scombrid species for the Mediterranean, is hereby reported for the first time from Maltese waters. Details of this unusual capture, and characteristics of the specimens recovered are provided, as well as a brief discussion on dynamics of its introduction in the Mediterranean Sea, and its...

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 introdu...

Although the presence of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) has been known in Palestine since 1935, fishing data on the species have not been available to date. The presence of the species in Palestinian waters is confirmed. Considering the importance of the species, also as a source of protein for local inhabitants, this short paper reports on landing...

A recently discovered fish specimen representing the family Diodontidae has been documented in the waters off Mazara del Vallo in southwest Sicily, Italy. A detailed description of the morphological and meristic characteristics of the specimen is reported. Molecular identification was performed through sequence analysis of the Cytochrome Oxidase su...

This study investigates the distribution and morphometrics of the little sleeper shark, Somniosus rostratus (Risso, 1827), in the Mediterranean Sea. Ten sharks caught as bycatch between 2009 and 2019 in the northern sectors of the Strait of Sicily, the south Tyrrhenian Sea, the northwestern Ionian Sea, and the south Adriatic Sea using drifting long...

A single individual of Ariidae was captured in 2022 in the Palestinian waters off the Gaza Strip, eastern Mediterranean. A comprehensive description of the morphological and meristic characters of the specimen was conducted. Molecular identification was performed through sequence analysis of the Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I (COI). The specimen was...

The presence of the swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in the Palestinian area is known since 1935, but detailed fishery data for the past are not available. Considering the importance of this species at the Mediterranean level and for the local communities, this short paper presents the few available data until the first part 2023, before the almost comp...

In recent decades, fishers have been very innovative, often proposing technologically advanced fishing gear that could only be scientifically evaluated 'a posteriori'. In swordfish fishing, this has perhaps happened most frequently. Recently, a new fishing gear, which does not fit into any previously known category, has been identified: it is calle...

Chondrichthyans (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) are highly susceptible to the impacts of fisheries due to their vulnerable life-history traits. Over the last 100 years, several cases of local extinction have been documented in heavily fished areas across the Mediterranean Sea. In the Strait of Sicily (SoS), one of the main demersal fishing grounds of...

Specimens of two uncommon fish species, Schedophilus medusophagus and Petromyzon marinus, were recently collected in nearshore waters off the island of Malta in the central Mediterranean. Several morphological and biological parameters for the specimens are described. The findings ascertain the occurrence of the two species in the area and corrobor...

The identity of a large sunfish, stranded in 1999 on a beach of the north-western Adriatic Sea, has been shifted from Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758) to Mola alexandrini (Ranzani, 1839), considering the recent taxonomic revision of the family Molidae. The faithful fiberglass model of the specimen is displayed at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Co...

Two years after the death of Giovanni Mannino, researcher and talented speleologist, we present here unpublished research results of the group of researchers he led. This contribution adds additional information to that previously published in 2022 by Mannino et al. The results presented here deal with the speleological register in an area of the e...

A single specimen of the xanthid Liomera rugipes was collected in May 2023 in the waters off Alexandria, Egypt, with a trammel net at 15 m of depth. The occurrence of this crab is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea and adds a new In-do-West Pacific crab to the non-indigenous biota of the basin, probably introduced via the Suez Can...

The presence of the narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) in the Palestinian area is known since 1935, but detailed fishery data for the past are not available. Taking into account the importance of this species for the local communities, recent fishery data and size frequencies are here provided, in agreement with the ICCAT reco...

The fishery of the bullet tuna (Auxis rochei) in the Palestinian area is not well known, even if this species is regularly present in that area, where it has a certain relevance for the local communities. Detailed fishery data for the past are not available, while past statistics include also other small tuna species. Taking into account the import...

The three sympatric angel shark species occurring in the Mediterranean – Squatina squatina (the angelshark), Squatina aculeata (the sawback angelshark), and Squatina oculata (the smoothback angelshark) – are all classed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. There is a clear need to better qu...

To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,64...

All three species of angelsharks that inhabit the Mediterranean Sea, Squatina aculeata Cuvier, 1829; Squatina oculata Bonaparte, 1840; and Squatina squatina (Linnaeus, 1758), are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, since their populations have suffered severe decline and range reduction, mainly due to fis...

A single specimen of Halosaurus ovenii Johnson, 1864 was collected in 2013 in the Tyrrhenian Sea, western Mediterranean. The finding contributes to the knowledge on the geographical distribution of this rare species in the whole basin. The occurrence of H. ovenii is reported for the fifth time in the Mediterranean and for the third in the It alian...

A single specimen of Siganus javus (Linnaeus, 1766) was captured in December 2021 in the waters off Alexandria, Egypt. This Indo-Pacific species is reported for the second time in the Mediterranean Sea and its occurrence in the basin is briefly discussed.

The northern coast of Trapani is characterised by a series of phenomena linked to Quaternary glaciations. These phenomena have modeled esplanades, terraces, cliffs, leaf grooves and caves of great natural beauty. The extreme strip of the Peninsula of S. Vito lo Capo, the Piana di Sopra, is made up of parareciphal limestones with Orbitoline and Rudi...

CORRECTED PROOF Rapid Communication 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 Abstract On March 25, 2022, one specimen of the Sohal surgeonfish Acanthurus sohal an...

Here, we report the recent capture (October, November 2021) of the following three non-indigenous species (NIS) from the Indo-Pacific in the Mediterranean Sea: the fishes Naso annulatus and Scatophagus argus and the brachyuran Charybdis (Charybdis) natator. The record of the white margin unicorn fish N. annulatus from the island of Malta represents...

The recent first findings of the Lessepsian migrant Lutjanus argentimaculatus (Forsskål, 1775) and of the Atlantic range-expanding Psenes pellucidus Lütken, 1880 in the waters of Malta, central Mediterranean, are described. The current distribution in the basin of these t wo fish species is briefly discussed.

In the Bomba Gulf, Tobruk, eastern Libya, a specimen of the fangtooth moray, Enchelycore anatina (Lowe, 1839), was caught in gill nets at approximately 20 m of depth. An additional observation of the species from southern Calabria, Italy, is also reported. The findings of this range-expanding species of Atlantic origin document the first record fro...

This Collective Article presents new information about the occurrence of 21 taxa that belong to six Phyla: one Cnidaria, one Ctenophora, two Annelida, four Mollusca, two Arthropoda, and eleven Chordata. These records were reported from ten countries from the western to the eastern Mediterranean Sea as follows: Spain: early colonization signs of the...

The unusual presence of an adult bluefin tuna individual, fished off the coast of Yemen in May 2021, stimulated a discussion among several fishery scientists. This is the third event in the Indian Ocean concerning vagrant adult bluefin tunas in recent times and this paper is proposing various hypotheses about the possible species concerned. The mos...

The unusual presence of an adult bluefin tuna individual, fished off the coast of Yemen in May 2021, stimulated a discussion among several fishery scientists. This is the third event in the Indian Ocean concerning vagrant adult bluefin tunas in recent times and this paper is proposing various hypotheses about the possible species concerned. The mos...

The invasive portunid species Callinectes sapidus is hereby recorded for the first time from Maltese waters, thus updating the known distribution of this decapod of Atlantic origin within the Mediterranean. Potential introduction pathways of the species to Maltese waters are discussed.

The first occurrence of Diadema setosum in the southern Mediterranean waters is recorded from the shores of Libya and Egypt, through the input by citizens' science. The expansion of this invasive sea urchin in the Mediterranean basin is briefly discussed.

The first occurrence of Diadema setosum in the southern Mediterranean waters is recorded from the shores of Libya and Egypt, through the input by citizens' science. The expansion of this invasive sea urchin in the Mediterranean basin is briefly discussed.

Copepods of the family Pandaridae are typically ectoparasites of elasmobranch fishes. They display a cosmopolitan distribution and limited host specificity. Published literature on their occurrence on pelagic sharks in the Mediterranean is scarce, often from the past century, or scattered through fish parasite surveys. Moreover, of the 64 valid pan...

An adult of Acanthurus xanthopterus Valenciennes, 1835 was caught in the waters off Alexandria, Egypt, in August 2021, through spearfishing. This finding documents the first occurrence of the species in the Mediterranean basin. Description of the specimen, morphometric measurements and meristic characters are given. The yellowfin surgeonfish is wid...

Marettimo island is the furthest of the Aegadian archipelago from the coast of northwestern Sicily. Nevertheless, the presence of continental and non-endemic mammals on the island has been documented since the Mesolithic period. Over the course of historical times the introduction of mammals on the small island has continued without any apparent so...

The first finding of Halyomorpha halys in the island of Rhodes, Greece, is reported and the fast range expansion of this invasive species over the Aegean region is briefly discussed.

Invasive portunid crabs in Libyan waters: first record of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 and range expansion of the swimming blue crab Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) Abstract The occurrence of the portunid Callinectes sapidus is documented for the first time from Libyan waters. The record fills a gap of knowledge concerni...

This Collective Article presents information about 27 taxa belonging to five Phyla (one Ochrophyta, one Cnidaria, three Arthropoda, two Mollusca and twenty Chordata) and extending from the Western Mediterranean Sea to the Levantine Sea and the Black Sea (Sea of Marmara). The new records were reported from 11 countries as follows: Algeria: occurrenc...

CORRECTED PROOF Rapid Communication 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 Abstract The first records of Trypauchen vagina (Bloch...

Two juveniles Luvarus imperialis, astrodermella stage, 97.4 mm and 90.6 mm in total length, were recorded on September 2016 and August 2017 respectively, the first caught by a bottom trawler off the south-eastern coast of Sicily, Strait of Sicily, Italy, the second found stranded on the beach in the nearby region. Biometrics data of this uncommon s...

Two juveniles Luvarus imperialis, astrodermella stage, 97.4 mm and 90.6 mm in total length, were recorded on September 2016 and August 2017 respectively, the first caught by a bottom trawler off the southeastern coast of Sicily, Strait of Sicily, Italy, the second found stranded on the beach in the nearby region. Biometrics data of this uncommon sp...

Two specimens of Ablennes hians (Valenciennes, 1846) were collected between 2018 and 2020 in nearshore waters off the island of Malta. The first occurrence of the flat needlefish in the central Mediterranean, almost contemporary to its first record in the eastern Levantine Sea, is briefly discussed.

The presence of the narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) is clearly documented in the ICCAT Convention area and particularly in a large part of the Mediterranean Sea. Fishery data for the Mediterranean Sea have been available mostly in the last few decades and this paper is now providing additional recent data on this species in...

An individual of the non-indigenous fish Terapon jarbua and one of Acanthopagrusbifasciatus were fished from the coastal waters off Alexandria, Egypt in November2020. The former was collected with shore jigging and the latter with a trammel net.The record of T. jarbua constitutes the first one for the Mediterranean Egyptian watersand the second one...

The first record of the northern brown shrimp, Penaeus aztecus Ives, 1891, from Libyan nearshore waters is hereby documented. Thirteen individuals of the species were caught by artisanal fishers using a mixture of gill and trammel nets in September 2020 within the Umm-Hufayn Lagoon. This lagoon is situated within the Gulf of Bomba along the Libyan...

Citation: Al Mabruk SAA, Zava B, Abdulghani A, Corsini-Foka М, Deidun A (2021) The first record of the pharaoh cardinal fish, Apogonichthyoides pharaonis (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Apogonidae), from Libyan waters. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 51(1): 113-118. https://doi. Abstract The occurrence of the pharaoh cardinalfish, Apogonichthyoides...

Considerable research effort has recently been invested into the reporting of Non- Indigenous Species (NIS) within the Mediterranean Sea, with species’ first records from the Basin holding most prestige within the biological community. This invariably leads to a discard of secondary, unpublished records, which represent a vast repository of informa...

Troballes de Notospermus geniculatus (Delle Chiaje, 1828) (Nemertea, Heteronemertea, Lineidae) a les illes mediterrànies de Sicília i Rodes Es documenten les troballes de Notospermus geniculatus a Sicília el 2019 i el 2020 i a Rodes el 2008, amb la qual cosa s’amplia el coneixement sobre la distribució d’aquest nemertí a la conca del Mediterrani.

In November 2015 an immature male individual of great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus 1758), was caught as by-catch by a bottom trawler in the Strait of Sicily, in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The shark, reaching 266 cm in length and weighing 290 Kg, was identified and measured by means of a video provided by fishers. This record is...

In November 2015 an immature male individual of great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus 1758), was caught as by-catch by a bottom trawler in the Strait of Sicily, in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The shark, reaching 266 cm in length and weighing 290 Kg, was identified and measured by means of a video provided by fishers. This record is...

Zava B., Insacco G., Corsini-Foka M., Serena F. 2020. Updating records of Squatina aculeata (Elasmobranchii: Squatiniformes: Squatinidae) in the Mediterranean Sea. Acta Ichthyol. Piscat. 50 (4): 401-411. Background. The decline of the populations of the three Critically Endangered species Squatina aculeata Cuvier, 1829, Squatina oculata Bonaparte,...

The second record of the Queen angelfish, Holacanthus ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758), is hereby documented for the Mediterranean, through a single individual spearfished within Maltese coastal waters. Considerations on the potential introduction pathway for the species, which is popular in the aquarium trade, are made.

This Collective Article presents information about 21 taxa belonging to seven Phyla (one Ochrophyta, one Porifera, three Cnidaria, two Arthropoda, three Mollusca, one Echinodermata, and ten Chordata) and extending from the western Mediterranean Sea to the Levantine Sea. The new records were reported from nine countries as follows: Spain: first reco...

This Collective Article presents information about 21 taxa belonging to seven Phyla (one Ochrophyta, one Porifera, three Cni-daria, two Arthropoda, three Mollusca, one Echinodermata, and ten Chordata) and extending from the western Mediterranean Sea to the Levantine Sea. The new records were reported from nine countries as follows: Spain: first rec...

This Collective Article presents information about 17 taxa belonging to four Phyla (one Cnidaria, two Arthropo-da, four Mollusca, and ten Chordata) and extending from the Western Mediterranean to the Levantine Sea. The new records were reported from nine countries as follows: Algeria: first published records of the clingfishes Apletodon dentatus an...

The Mediterranean Large Elasmobranchs Monitoring (MEDLEM) database contains over 3000 records (more than 4000 individuals) of large elasmobranch species from 20 different countries around the Mediterranean and Black seas, observed from 1666 to 2017. The main species included in the archive are the devil fish (1 813 individuals), the basking shark (...

The tenpounder fish genus Elops Linnaeus, 1766 was recorded for the first time from the Mediterranean in October 2019, as a single individual was caught in Maltese waters. The genus has a disparate global distribution consisting of west Atlantic and west Pacific tropical and subtropical areas. A single individual was caught, but not retained, durin...

Abstract Good datasets of geo-referenced records of alien species are a prerequisite for assessing the spatio-temporal dynamics of biological invasions, their invasive potential, and the magnitude of their impacts. However, with the exception of first records on a country level or wider regions, observations of species presence tend to remain unpub...

Good datasets of geo-referenced records of alien species are a prerequisite for assessing the spatio-temporal dynamics of biological invasions, their invasive potential, and the magnitude of their impacts. However, with the exception of first records on a country level or wider regions, observations of species presence tend to remain unpublished, b...

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...

The three angelshark species living in the Mediterranean Sea, Squatina aculeata Cuvier, 1829, S. oculata Bonaparte, 1840 and S. squatina (Linnaeus, 1758), are listed as Critically Endangered Species for the basin. Alerted fishermen operating in the central and eastern Mediterranean waters provided information on the accidental capture of S. aculeat...

The three angelshark species living in the Mediterranean Sea, Squatina aculeata Cuvier, 1829, S. oculata Bonaparte, 1840 and S. squatina (Linnaeus, 1758), are listed as Critically Endangered Species for the basin. Alerted fishermen operating in the central and eastern Mediterranean waters provided information on the accidental capture of S. aculeat...

According to Boldrocchi et alii (2017) the information on the diet of white sharks in the Mediterranean inferred from stomach content analyses of 103 stomachs revealed among other prey items 45 bony fish and 5 cartilaginous fish. The most common teleost prey groups were tuna (Thunnus spp.) and swordfish (Xiphias gladius). In the Strait of Messina m...

The first findings of the anomuran Albunea carabus (Linnaeus, 1758) from the southeastern coa-sts of Sicily are documented, improving knowledge on the distribution of this poorly known species around the island and in the Mediterranean Sea. The distribution of records in the whole basin is updated.

The first findings of the anomuran Albunea carabus (Linnaeus, 1758) from the southeastern coasts of Sicily are documented, improving knowledge on the distribution of this poorly known species around the island and in the Mediterranean Sea. The distribution of records in the whole basin is updated.

This is the second collective paper issued in 2019, currently amalgamates new knowledge on the Mediterranean geographic distributions of 17 species from five phyla (six aliens, three cosmopolitans, two east Atlantic records and six natives). The acknowledged species were reported from ten countries, mentioned here from west to east: Spain: first re...

A flourishing population of the Massawan mantis shrimp, Erugosquilla massavensis, an Erythraean species, is recorded off Sicily, Italy, one year after the very first specimen was collected off the eastern coast of the island. The species is already established as a minor, albeit valuable, fishery resource. Once its population increases, however, it...

BIR_2019_Gianguzza_etal_Table_S1.xlsx

The increasing reliance of human societies on globalised maritime trade has spearheaded the spread of exotic aquatic species worldwide, with the Mediterranean Sea being one of the regional seas mostly affected by the phenomenon of Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) introductions, by virtue of its geographical location. This study attempts to characterise...

Two specimens of the uncommon calappid crab Calappa tuerkayana Pastore, 1995 are reported from the central Mediterranean. One juvenile individual was caught in a trawl net at about 105 m depth on a detritus bottom, and one adult male was caught in a trammel net at 50 m depth in a similar habitat. Details about carapace ornamentation and fresh color...

Two specimens of the uncommon calappid crab Calappa tuerkayana Pastore, 1995 are reported from the central Mediterranean. One juvenile individual was caught in a trawl net at about 105 m depth on a detritus bottom, and one adult male was caught in a trammel net at 50 m depth in a similar habitat. Details about carapace ornamentation and fresh color...