Gonioinfradens paucidentatus (A. Milne Edwards, 1861) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae): a new alien crab in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

The first record for the Mediterranean Sea of the Red Sea/Indo-Pacific portunid Gonioinfradens paucidentatus (red swimming crab) is documented. A detailed description of the specimens collected at Rodos Island (southeastern Aegean Sea) is given, while possible introduction vectors of the species in the area are discussed

An earlier record of the Indo-Pacific swimming crab, Gonioinfradens paucidentatus (A. Milne-Edwards, 1861) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae) off the Mediterranean coast of Turkey

“…-The specimens agree well with the description and figures given by Apel & Spiridonov (1998), who revised the generic status of the species. No distinct morphological differences were noted between the previously reported Mediterranean specimens (Corsini-Foka et al, 2010) and the present ones. The carapace was mottled brown-beige in the male specimen and reddish-brown with darker patches in the female.…”

“…The greatest reported depth for this species is 150-300 m, off Réunion (see Apel & Spiridonov, 1998). One of the three previously documented Mediterranean specimens was found on biogenic detritus at a depth of 200 m (Corsini-Foka et al, 2010); that is perhaps unusual but not unexpected. The Turkish specimens of G. paucidentatus were collected in similar habitats and at similar depths (on foraminiferan sand, beneath boulders, at depths of 6 and 9 m) to those of the previously reported shallow-water Mediterranean specimens from Rhodes (Corsini-Foka et al, 2010).…”

“…It has been suggested that shipping is the most probable vector for the introduction of G. paucidentatus into the Mediterranean, since it was first reported from Rhodes (Corsini-Foka et al, 2010). However, the collection of the Turkish specimens predates the collection at Rhodes by five months, indicating that the species might have already established a population in Kaş-Kekova SPA.…”

A massive update of non-indigenous species records in Mediterranean marinas

“…Its first Mediterranean record was in Turkey in 2009 from the Kaş-Kekova specially protected area from the Turkish Levantine coast ( Karhan & Yokeş, 2012 ). A 2010 record from Rhodes, Greece provided the second Mediterranean record ( Corsini-Foka et al, 2010 ), which is only about 140 km from Kaş, Turkey.…”

A new alien crab for the Mediterranean Sea: Xanthias lamarckii (H. Milne Edwards, 1834) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Xanthidae)

“…Rhodes is very far from the Suez Canal, but the first finding of Indo-Pacific aliens ne� to the Mediterranean Sea, such as the actual X. lamarckii, is not a novelty, considering for example the cases of the tetraodontid Tylerius spinosissimus (Regan, 1908) (Corsini-Foka et al, 2010a) and the portunid Gonioinfradens paucidentatus (A. Milne-Edwards, 1861) (Corsini-Foka et al, 2010b). After successive findings along the Levantine coasts, both of the above species are now included among the Indo-Pacific aliens that have entered the basin via the Suez Canal, the so-called Lessepsian immigrants.…”