Confirmed occurrence of moontail bullseye, priacanthus hamrur (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Priacanthidae), in the mediterranean sea with first record off the coast of Turkey

Abstract

A new Lessepsian migrant, moontail bullseye, Priacanthus hamrur (Forsskal, 1775), is recorded for the second time from the Mediterranean Sea, and for the first time from Turkey. A single male specimen of P. hamrur was caught at a depth of about 30 m, off the Konacik harbour (Arsuz coast, Gulf of Iskenderun, Turkey) on 18 December 2017, by a longline. The present paper reports the confirmed record of P. hamrur in the eastern Mediterranean with the first record off the coast of Turkey. This species is probably a Red Sea immigrant entering the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal. With the present report, the number of priacanthid species reported in the Mediterranean Sea has reached four.