Prvi nalaz vrste Eualus drachi Noël, 1978 (Decapoda: Caridea) u Jadranskom moru

Three specimens of decapod shrimp Eualus drachi Noël, 1978, were found in the red coral rem-nant collected for commercial purposes near the island Sveti Andrija, Croatia. It is the first record of this species in the Adriatic Sea. The decapod biodiversity of deeper coralligenous habitats, such as the red coral colonies, is poorly investigated in contrast to coastal areas and soft bottoms of traditional trawling grounds. This paper highlights the usefulness of examining the remnants of a commercial coral extraction originating from previously less investigated marine habitats in order to improve the knowledge on the biodiversity of such habitats.Tri primjerka kozice Eualus drachi Noël, 1978, pronađena su u ostatku crvenog koralja prikupljenom u komercijalne svrhe u blizini otoka Sveti Andrija, Hrvatska. To je prvi nalaz ove vrste u Jadranskom moru. Biološka raznolikost deseteronožaca dubljih koraligenih staništa (poput kolonija crvenih koralja) slabo je istražena za razliku od obalnih područja i mekog dna tradicionalnih koćarskih područja. U ovom radu se naglašava korisnost ispitivanja ostataka komercijalne ekstrakcije koralja porijeklom iz prethodno manje istraženih morskih staništa kako bi se poboljšalo znanje o biološkoj raznolikosti takvih staništa

Documenting the spatial and temporal expansion of grouper species in the eastern Adriatic Sea (Croatia) through local ecological knowledge of recreational fishermen

Groupers are important predatory marine fish species, and also economically important to commercial and recreational fisheries, but threatened by overfishing worldwide. The dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) is the most common species that historically occurred in the Southern and central Eastern Adriatic, while other species were mostly restricted to the southern part of the region or were not recorded in the Adriatic Sea. However, the warming of the sea caused by recent climate change has caused some grouper species in the Eastern Adriatic to expand northward. This spread has been poorly documented, largely because rocky coastal habitats, which are less accessible to conventional research methods that often rely on specific fishing gears, have received far less attention than other more accessible habitats i.e. soft bottoms. Reports of recent grouper expansion are primarily anecdotal and mainly based on the extensive observations of recreational fishermen who mainly utilize rocky coastal habitats. In order to gain insight into this phenomenon, we conducted a survey to investigate the distribution of groupers along the Croatian coast of the eastern Adriatic using the Local Ecological Knowledge methodology. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to record fishers’ knowledge and perceptions of changes in their catches, as well as personal observations. The data collected provided information on the spatial and temporal expansion of groupers in the eastern Adriatic over the last 60 years, as perceived by local recreational fishermen

O recentnim nalazima morskog psa kučka, Isurus oxyrinchus (Rafinesque, 1810) u Jadranskom moru

Eight individuals of the shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus (Rafinesque, 1810) have been recorded in the period from 2014 to 2017 in the Adriatic Sea. The specimens presented in the paper were identified on the basis of photographic evidence. Occurrences of juvenile specimens suggests that Adriatic Sea could serve as a nursery area for this species, especially its eastern part. A review of the previously documented occurrences of this species in the Adriatic Sea is given in this article.Osam primjeraka morskog psa kučka, Isurus oxyrinchus (Rafinesque, 1810) ulovljeno je u razdoblju od 2014. do 2017. u Jadranskom moru. Primjerci prikazani u ovom radu determinirani su na osnovi fotografskog materijala. Prisutnost nedoraslih i novookoćenih primjeraka ukazuje na važnost istočne obale Jadranskog mora kao područja rastilišta ove vrste. U radu je dat i pregled ranijih nalaza ove vrste u Jadranskom moru

Unusual findings of softmouth trout Salmo obtusirostris (Actinopteri: Salmonidae) in the marine environment along the middle Eastern Adriatic coast as a consequence of extreme weather events

The discovery of individuals of softmouth trout Salmo obtusirostris in the marine environment has been recorded several times in the period from 2015 to the present day in the wider area of the Neretva River delta and southern Adriatic coast. Although this phenomenon appears to be happening more frequently along the Adriatic coast, scientific reports regarding family Salmonidae species found in the marine environment are still very rare in the eastern Adriatic, especially for the softmouth trout. The findings reported here represent the first marine records of this endemic freshwater species. An increasing frequency of these findings may indicate that a higher number of individuals are ending up in the coastal environment during heavy storm events or other unusual hydrologic occurrence. Extreme weather conditions have become more frequent in recent years, mainly as a result of climate change and have led to unexpected phenomena and impacts on nature. The long-term effects on fish and community structure of rivers flowing into the sea require further research, as these weather-induced situations can be expected to become more common. Further investigation into the physiological costs and population consequences of these unusual ecological findings is warranted

New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (July 2019)

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 report of the east Atlantic grouper Cephalopholis taeniops in the western Mediterranean and an inclusion of Pontarachna puntulum and Litarachna communis to the pontarachnid fauna of Spain; Morocco: first record of Solea senegalensis from the Moroccan Mediterranean coast; Algeria: a valid confirmation for the presence of Sardinella maderensis; Malta: a first record of the Red Sea stomatopod Erugosquilla massavensis; Italy: a rare observation of the crab Paragalene longicrura from Siciliy and a further integration of the alien brown shrimp Penaeus aztecus to the commercial catch in Sicily; Montenegro: a first record of the Lessepsian bigfin reef squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana from the Adriatic Sea; Turkey: northernmost documentation of the Mediterranean flatworm Prostheceraeus giesbrechtii in the Aegean Sea; Israel: a solid confirmation for the population establishment of both the alien rock shrimp Sicyonia lancifer and two species of angelfish, and a first and deepest record of the crystalline goby Odondebuenia balearica; Lebanon: first record of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca; Syria: first records of the crown jellyfish Nausithoe punctate and the smallscale codlet Bregmaceros nectabanus

New record of Pterois cf. miles (Actinopterygii: Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae) from the eastern middle Adriatic Sea (Croatian waters): Northward expansion

A single specimen of Pterois cf. miles has been recorded in the eastern middle Adriatic Sea. It was observed near the island of Vis at a depth of 15 m. The location of the record is further north than previous Adriatic records and it constitutes the northernmost record of this species in the Mediterranean Sea to date. The record is based solely on photographs and video footage provided by a professional underwater photographer

Reply to Soldo, A.; Lipej, L. Comment on “Balàka et al. Updated Checklist of Chondrichthyan Species in Croatia (Central Mediterranean Sea). <i>Biology</i> 2023, <i>12</i>, 952”

Balàka et al [...