Red Sea cardinal swims to Mediterranean
A species of tropical marine fish normally found in the Red Sea has managed to swim to the Mediterranean by navigating the Suez Canal.Apogon queketti, the Spotfin cardinal, is normally found in the western Indian Ocean, the southern Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, but scientists have recently discovered the species living in the Mediterranean.
According to a paper by Eryilmaz and Dalyan in the latest issue of the Journal of Fish Biology, Apogon queketti was recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean at Iskenderun Bay in Turkey, after two specimens measuring 10-11cm/4" in length were caught by a trawler.
Eryilmaz and Dalyan believe that the species must have migrated to the Med by swimming up the Suez Canal.
The mouthbrooding fish has a characteristic dark spot on the first dorsal fin and dark longitudinal brown stripes.
The species belongs to the Apogon carinatus species group is believed to be a member of Gon's Jaydia subgenus. It is the only member of the subgenus that is found in the Red Sea and the western Indian Ocean - the other two, carinatus and poecilopterus are found predominantly in the Indian Ocean.
According to Gon and Randall's 2003 review of Red Sea cardinalfishes, Budker and Fourmanoir recorded a cardinal caught in a trawl in the Gulf of Suez in the 1950s as A. poecilopterus, however, these authors believe the fish was probably queketti.
For more information see the paper: Eryilmaz L and C Dalyan (2006) - First record of Apogon queketti Gilchrist (Osteichthyes: Apogonidae) in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Fish Biology, Vol. 69, page 1251.
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Matt Clarke: 14.9.2006Views: Read 4,799 times
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"Unlikely, Jeremy. Given that it has been previously recorded in the Gulf of Suez it seems more likely to have swum there. It's been recorded at various places in the Red Sea, so it simply swam in the wrong direction.
Although it's the first record of a migration by this species, migrations by marine species along the Suez Canal are actually very well documented. It's an occurence known as Lessepsian migration - after some French bloke called Lesseps who was involved in building the canal. This apogonid is now a Lessepsian migrant.
There are literally dozens of documented cases of this happening and since their movements have been studied along the length of the canal and elsewhere it more or less rules out their transfer in shipping ballast, I reckon.
Have a rummage for some papers by Daniel Golani. He's a bit of an authority on Lessepsian fish migrations."
Date: Thursday September 14th, 2006, 2:17 pm
"Lionfish moving to New York, Red Sea inhabitants holidaying in the Med, Coral Reefs discovered off the Western Isles.
How long before we find Nemo on Blackpool promanade? "
Date: Friday September 15th, 2006, 8:58 am
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 | Editor-in-Chief, Matt Clarke, writes the regular Interesting Imports column on rare and unusual fish in the UK aquarium trade. He's kept fish for 30 years and holds a degree, two higher degrees and two diplomas in fish biology, taxonomy and computational biology. |
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"Isn't it more likely that they were scooped up in ships balast and were released after the ship navigated the suez canal?
Posted by: Jeremy Gay - 3 years, 2 months agoSmall prey fish like cardinals making long trips sounds a bit like finding nemo to me. The fry aren't pelagic either so its not like they drifted there."
Date: Thursday September 14th, 2006, 1:51 pm