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Microcosmus exasperatus (Ascidiacea: Pyuridae), current distribution in the Mediterranean Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2013

Alfonso A. Ramos-Espla ,
Andres Izquierdo  and
Melih Ertan Çinar
Alfonso A. Ramos-Espla*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciencias del Mar y Biologia Aplicada, Universidad de Alicante, 03080, Alicante, Spain
Andres Izquierdo
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación Marina de Santa Pola (CIMAR), Universidad de Alicante—Ayuntamiento de Santa Pola, 03130 Santa Pola, Alicante, Spain
Melih Ertan Çinar
Affiliation:
Ege University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Hydrobiology, 35100 Bornova, İzmir, Turkey
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: A.A. Ramos-Esplá, Departamento de Ciencias del Mar y Biologia Aplicada, Universidad de Alicante, 03080, Alicante, Spain email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The presence of the pantropical ascidian Microcosmus exasperatus has been an object of some taxonomic confusion in the Mediterranean Sea. A closely related species, M. squamiger was previously reported in the north of Tunisia (in 1962) as M. exasperatus; it has spread to the western Mediterranean and the northern part of the Ionian Sea, whereas, the reliable report of M. exasperatus has been made more recently (in 1998) in the Gulf of Gabès (South Tunisia), and later studies have confirmed its presence in the eastern Mediterranean basin (Lebanon and Israel). The occurrence of this species in Izmir (Turkey) extends its distribution range to the Aegean Sea. At present, the distributions of both species of Microcosmus are not overlapping in the Mediterranean, suggesting a different route of entrance, probably by the maritime traffic (M. squamiger via the Strait of Gibraltar; and M. exasperatus via the Suez Canal). The discontinuity in the distribution of M. exasperatus in the Mediterranean is analysed and discussed.

Keywords

ascidiansMicrocosmus spp.alien specieslessepsian migrantsMediterranean SeaAegean Sea
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 6 , 2013 , e89
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013 

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