The opening of the sea level Suez Canal in 1869 and the increase in commercial shipping routes have led to the colonization of the Mediterranean Sea by Indo-Pacific species. These populations established first along the Levantine coasts and then spread into the central Mediterranean, at least in part by shipping transport of larvae, juveniles or adult specimens. One of these species is Haminoea cyanomarginata, a cephalaspidean belonging to the Haminoeidae, and until now never reported from the Italian seas. In addition, egg-masses of this species have been recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea.
