Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 39(2): 153-156, doi: 10.3750/AIP2009.39.2.11

Genetic evidence for wide distribution of the alien prawn-goby, Vanderhorstia mertensi (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Gobiidae), along the northeast Mediterranean

M.B. Yokes, M. Bilecenoglu, M. Goren, B.S. Galil, A. Diamant

Corresponding author: M.B. Yokes

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Yokes M, Bilecenoglu M, Goren M, Galil B, Diamant A (2009) Genetic evidence for wide distribution of the alien prawn-goby, Vanderhorstia mertensi (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Gobiidae), along the northeast Mediterranean. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 39(2): 153-156. https://doi.org/10.3750/AIP2009.39.2.11

Abstract

Vanderhorstia mertensi Klausewitz, 1974, is a recently acknowledged alien fish in theMediterranean Sea, hitherto observed only from Fethiye Bay, Turkey. To explore its distribution, trawl bycatch from eastern Antalya and Iskenderun was examined and an underwater survey was performed off Kas (western Antalya). An established population was found off Güvercin Island, Kas, and six specimens were identified from trawl bycatch collected off Antalya and Iskenderun. The trawl-collected specimens were badly damaged and identification was made possible by the analysis of their 16S rDNA sequences. Our findings suggest that the species was only recently introduced and its population size has increased rapidly. Symbiotic relationship with alpheids (Apheidae, Crustacea) may have enhanced this prawn-goby’s establishment and dispersal along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

Keywords

Vanderhorstia mertensi, Gobiidae, alien species, 16S rDNA, Mediterranean Sea, Turkey