Maria Corsini-Foka

Hellenic Centre for Marine Research | hcmr · Institute of Oceanography/Hydrobiological Station of Rhodes

In this work, combined efforts by Greek and Turkish scientists produced an updated validated NIS inventory of the Aegean ecoregion, covering 120 years of records up to August 2024. Of the 342 NIS currently present in the Aegean Sea, the majority (281 species) have invaded the South Aegean, followed by the North Aegean (128 species out of 206 NIS)....

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...

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...

Trammel net and boat-seine experimental fishing samplings were carried out seasonally, over a rocky-sandy and a Posidonia oceanica habitat respectively, in the coastal waters of Rhodes, southeastern Aegean Sea, Greece, between 2019 and 2020. Fish catch composition, abundance and biomass were investigated as a contribution to the qualitative and qua...

Experimental fishing was conducted in three different locations along the coastal marine waters of eastern Rhodes Island, Levantine Sea, Hellas, from April 2021 to March 2022 on a monthly basis. Twelve samplings with gill nets and 12 with trammel nets at each of three selected locations resulted in a total of 72 samplings. The numbers of indigenous...

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...

Zirler et al 2023 - Mass mortality of the invasive alien echinoid Diadema setosum (Echinoidea: Diadematidae) in the Mediterranean Sea - Supplementary

The sea urchin Diadema setosum is an ecological key species across its range, particularly on coral reefs. In 2006 D. setosum was first observed in the Mediterranean Sea, and since, it has proliferated to occupy the entire Levantine Basin. Here we report the mass mortality of the invasive D. setosum in the Mediterranean Sea. This is the first repor...

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...

The findings of the crabs Arcania brevifrons and Macrophthalmus (Macrophthalmus) indicus, native to the Indo-West Pacific Ocean and Red Sea, and to the Indian Ocean and Red Sea, respectively, in 2021 are described from Rhodes Island, Greece. This first record of the leucosiid A. brevifrons in Hellenic waters and the Aegean Sea documents the westwar...

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 finding in 2022 of the parthenopid Velolambrus expansus (Miers, 1879) in the Hellenic waters of the Aegean Sea is reported. This crab is considered rare in the Mediterranean Sea and the distribution of its records in the basin is updated and briefly discussed.

This Collective Article presents information on 20 taxa belonging to five (5) Phyla: Cnidaria (2), Mollusca (8), Arthropoda (4), Echinodermata (1) and Chordata (5) recorded from the Alboran Sea to the Levantine Sea. These new records were found in seven (7) different ecoregions as follows: Alboran Sea: new record of the rare football octopus Ocytho...

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 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.

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...

This Collective Article includes records of 29 alien and cryptogenic species in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to eight Phyla (Rhodophyta, Ochrophyta, Cnidaria, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, and Chordata) and coming from 11 countries. Notes published here can be divided into three different categories: occupancy estimation for wi...

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.

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...

Rhodes Island (southeastern Aegean) is located in a geographically crucial region subjected to biological invasions. Among the 108 alien species recorded, 28 are fish, all of Indo-Pacific/Red Sea origin introduced via Suez through Lessepsian migration. In this oligotrophic area, fishery production is limited, due to the paucity of species of commer...

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...

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.

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,...

This study presents the updated status of marine non-indigenous species (NIS) distribution in Greece and investigates trends in new NIS introductions, at both national and subnational level, during 1970-2017. The overall picture shows an increase in new introductions from the 1970s to 2017. The number of unaided introduced species (mainly Lessepsia...

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...

The Aegean Sea is highly impacted by biological invasions with 209 alien species being reported until the end of 2019, of which 149 are considered as established. Among these, the most abundant group is Pisces, followed by Mollusca, Crustacea, Annelida, and Macrophyta. There is an increasing trend of new species introductions in the Aegean Sea, rea...

Decapod crustaceans are ecologically and commercially important members of marine communities. Faunal surveys constitute essential tools for the understanding of local diversity, especially in areas subjected to significant alterations of community composition due to climate changes, anthropogenic impacts, and biological invasions. Following a lite...

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 presence of the Red Sea Mantis shrimp Erugosquilla massavensis (Kossmann, 1880) is here reported for the first time from the southeastern Ionian Sea (Zakynthos Island, Greece). This record is the first evidence of the presence of a Lessepsian migrant crustacean in the aforementioned area while it fills the gap in the ongoing westward and northw...

The finding in 2017 of a female of Lethocerus patruelis, a species rarely collected in the Aegean Islands, is documented from Rhodes (Greece), more than 160 years after its first record in the same island. The general distribution of the giant water bug and its occurrence in the area are briefly discussed.Keywords: Belostomatidae, giant water bug,...

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...

The diet composition of devil lionfish, Pterois miles (Bennet, 1828), from the Aegean Sea was investigated. The stomach contents of 42 samples (10 of which were empty) collected between May 2016 and November 2017 from Rhodes Island, Greece, were studied. The diet was composed predominantly of bony fish (78.5% in number, approximately 94.7% in bioma...

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 distribution area of the tufted ghost crab Ocypode cursor includes two widely separate sub-areas, i.e. the tropical and subtropical Atlantic coasts of Africa and Macaronesia, and the central-eastern Mediterranean basin. The current disjunct distribution of the species is possibly the remnant of a previous wider and continuous distribution area...

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.

Xanthism in fishes has a genetic basis that causes abnormal skin colouration of yellow to orange-gold. Xanthochromic specimens are rare in nature. We report two cases of adult xanthochromic specimens from the Mediterranean Sea: Epinephelus marginatus from Israel and Diplodus vulgaris from Greece and discuss the reason for the paucity of reports of...

First record of the isopod Idotea hectica (Pallas, 1772) (Idoteidae) and of the brachyuran crab Matuta victor (Fabricius, 1781) (Matutidae) in the Hellenic waters KONDYLATOS GERASIMOS Abstract The presence and the establishment of Idotea hectica is reported for the first time in the Hellenic seas on the basis of three adult specimens and a juvenile...

Invasive species can cause significant changes in local and regional ecologies, especially in freshwater ecosystems. It is thus important to monitor and document the spread of non-indigenous species to such habitats as such information can be critical to preserving habitats and species. We document the spread of the red swamp crayfish Procambarus c...

This work presents a current (2018) annotated list of marine NIS and cryptogenic species in Greek marine waters. For this purpose, we updated information from previous lists, included new data from several new NIS and cryptogenic records and recent taxonomic studies, and followed current taxonomic modifications for the alien/cryptogenic status of s...

Σε αυτή την πτυχιακή εργασία παρουσιάζονται τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας που διενεργήθηκε για το λεσσεψιανό είδος Pterois miles (Bennet, 1828), το οποίο εμφανίστηκε στα νερά της Ρόδου το 2015. Αυτή η προκαταρκτική έρευνα περιελαμβάνει μια σειρά αποτελεσμάτων που αφορούν τα μορφολογικά χαρακτηριστικά και τις διατροφικές προτιμήσεις του είδους. Για το...

Deidun A., Zava B., Insacco G., Corsini-Foka M. 2018. First record of the Por's goatfish Upeneus pori (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Mullidae) from Italian waters (western Ionian Sea). Acta Ichthyol. Piscat. 48 (1): 93-97. Abstract. During May 2017, two specimens of the Lessepsian fish species, Upeneus pori Ben-Tuvia et Golani, 1989, were recorded f...

The “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” series includes new records of marine species found in the Mediterranean basin and/or information on the spatial distribution of already established species of particular interest. The current article presents information on 21 marine taxa classified per country according to their geographic position in...

In this study we present a list of invasive/potential invasive alien species in the East and South European Network for Invasive Alien Species (ESENIAS) countries with marine borders. The species were classified according to the existing literature and experts’ judgment, as established, casual, invasive and expected. Finally, factsheets were compil...

Abstract: Three female specimens of Trachysalambria palaestinensis (Steinitz, 1932), a Lessepsian species, were unexpectedly caught by trammel nets off Marina di Ragusa and off Donnalucata, Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. This is the first record of the species for the Italian waters. Data and measurements of the captured specimens are given. Résumé : Trach...