On the importance of citizen-science: the first record of Goniobranchus obsoletus (Rüppell & Leuckart, 1830) from Cyprus (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Nudibranchia)

The Mediterranean Sea faces unprecedented challenges by the increasing of non-indigenous species (NIS) introductions. Cyprus is the first European country affected by Lessepsian immigration, being along the natural pathway of many of the Indo-Pacific taxa spreading from the Red Sea; thus, it has a pioneer role in detecting alien species and in demonstrating that a concerted action is necessary at early stages of invasion, as required by the recent EU Regulation on NIS (EC/1143/2014). The present study reports for the first time Goniobranchus obsoletus from Cyprus and confirms the spread of the species in the basin, after its first sightings in Israel. Moreover, the records were collected in the context of a citizen project, this taxon being first detected by a scuba diver and then posted on a dedicated Facebook group. This study, therefore, proves once more the importance of technology utilization in early detection of non-indigenous species and suggests that citizen-science can form an integral tool for the implementation of the EU Regulation and should be further promoted by the national and international management authorities

Westernmost record of the diamondback puffer, Lagocephalus guentheri (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) in the Mediterranean Sea: First record from Greek waters

On 5th November 2017, a puffer fish specimen was caught in the Aegean Sea. Morphological and molecular analysis identified it as Lagocephalus guentheri. This first record from Greek waters represents the westernmost observation of the species in the Mediterranean Sea. The expansion and establishment of pufferfish species in the basin are discussed, with particular emphasis on the importance of the additional use of molecular analysis for increasing the efficiency in understanding species spread and dynamics

The first record of Torquigener flavimaculosus (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) from Libya

The yellow spotted puffer belongs to the Tetraodontidae family and is one of the seven non-native puffer fish found in Mediterranean Sea. The species is a Lessepsian immigrant, currently displaying an expansion towards the north and the west of the basin, similar to other lessepsian immigrant species. Hereby, we present the first record of the species from the Libyan water

Is the mangrove red snapper Lutjanus argentimaculatus (Forsskål, 1775) established in the eastern Mediterranean Sea? First records from Greece through a citizen science project

The Indo-Pacific mangrove red snapper Lutjanus argentimaculatus (Forsskål, 1775) (Chordata: Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Lutjanidae) is an alien fish that has recently invaded the eastern Mediterranean Sea, with records from Israel, Lebanon, and Turkey. We here first report the presence of this species in Greece based on three specimens spearfished between July and August 2019; they also represent the westernmost observations of the species in the Mediterranean basin up to date. After a long period of latency, this taxon seems to undergo a very rapid expansion. The likely presence of an established population in the eastern part of the Mediterranean is discussed