The capture of the Indo-Pacific crab Charybdis feriata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Brachyura: Portunidae) in the Mediterranean Sea

4 pages, 2 figuresThe Indo-Pacific portunid crab Charybdis feriata (Linnaeus, 1758) was recorded for the first time from the Mediterranean Sea, based on a single adult female caught in a gillnet off Barcelona at a depth of 60-70 m on the 13th December 2004. Its most probable introduction vector was a merchant ship.We are greatly indebted to Mr. Ginés Costa, the fisherman that collected the specimen and kindly made it available to "L'Aquàrium" in Barcelona. Especial thanks are also given to Mr. Patrici Bultó and Mr. Antoni Plaça of "L'Aquàrium". We are also very grateful to Dr. Paul Clark (The Natural History Museum, UK) for his comments and editing the manuscript, to Dr. Bella Galil (National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel) for her kind and prompt comments and information provided, as well as to the comments by Dr. Enrique Macpherson (CEAB-CSIC) and Dr. Antoni Lombarte (ICM-CSIC). Dr. Daniel Martín (CEAB-CSIC) kindly identified the epibiont polychaetes.Peer reviewe