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The invasive crab Percnon gibbesi (Crustacea: Decapoda: Plagusiidae) is spreading in the Aegean and Ionian Seas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2010

Stelios Katsanevakis ,
Dimitris Poursanidis ,
Yiannis Issaris ,
Kostas Tsiamis ,
Maria Salomidi ,
Michalis Maroulakis ,
Eleni Kytinou ,
Maria Thessalou-Legaki  and
Argyro Zenetos
Stelios Katsanevakis*
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Biological Resources, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavyssos 19013, Greece
Dimitris Poursanidis
Affiliation:
WWF Hellas, Glaukou 13, Knossos, Heraklion, Crete, Greece Department of Marine Sciences, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, 81100, Greece
Yiannis Issaris
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Biological Resources, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavyssos 19013, Greece Department of Zoology–Marine Biology, School of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, 15784 Athens, Greece
Kostas Tsiamis
Affiliation:
Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavyssos 19013, Greece Department of Ecology and Taxonomy, School of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, 15784 Athens, Greece
Maria Salomidi
Affiliation:
Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavyssos 19013, Greece
Michalis Maroulakis
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology–Marine Biology, School of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, 15784 Athens, Greece
Eleni Kytinou
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology–Marine Biology, School of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, 15784 Athens, Greece
Maria Thessalou-Legaki
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology–Marine Biology, School of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, 15784 Athens, Greece
Argyro Zenetos
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Biological Resources, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavyssos 19013, Greece
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: S. Katsanevakis, Institute of Marine Biological Resources, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavyssos 19013, Greece email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Percnon gibbesi is an opportunistic feeder, feeding primarily on algae, of the shallow infra-littoral rocky shores. It was first observed in 1999 in the Mediterranean Sea and has rapidly spread since then. The range expansion of the species in the Aegean and Ionian Seas was recorded and evidence of its further establishment in Greek waters was provided. Established populations were observed in areas where it had not been previously reported: the Saronikos Gulf (central Aegean Sea), Chios Island (central Aegean Sea), Milos Island (central Aegean Sea), Zakynthos Island (central Ionian Sea) and Syvota (north-eastern coast of the Ionian Sea). The species was also observed in new sites in the Messiniakos Gulf, Crete and Rhodes Island, where it had been previously reported. The species keeps spreading in the Mediterranean Sea with a high rate of expansion.

Keywords

aliendecapodaPercnon gibbesiGreeceMediterranean Sea
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 3 , June 2010 , e53
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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