New fish species recorded from the Maltese Islands
Cape Verde fish makes its way into Malta from Gibraltar straits
A new fish species, the African hind (Cephalopholis taeniops), has been observed and photographed in Cirkewwa and off Exiles Point in Sliema, in what is being called the Atlantic ‘invasion’ of new species through the Straits of Gibraltar.
The marine biodiversity of the Maltese islands is constantly being revised with new species additions being continuously recorded. As the Mediterranean warms up, an increasing number of non-indigenous marine species colonise the Basin through the Suez Canal or the Straits of Gibraltar.
Whilst the influx through the Suez Canal – the so-called Lessepsian migration – is much publicised, the Atlantic ‘ invasion’ through the Straits of Gibraltar, though more subtle, is still very evident. Within the central Mediterranean region alone, for example, at least 13 exotic (non-indigenous) species of Atlantic origin have been recorded in recent years.
The African hind belongs to the grouper family and has a very flamboyant and distinctive body colouration consisting of a red/orange and green body peppered with blue spots.
It is native to the tropical Atlantic waters off the western coast of Africa, being known as ‘Carnaval’ in Cape Verde, due to its colours.
The fish can reach a maximum length of 70cm, but rarely exceeds the length of 40cm, and is recorded from depths ranging from 20m to 200m.
The discovery comes in the wake of other fish novelties recorded for the islands recorded in recent years (spotted scat – Zammit & Schembri, 2011; barred knifejaw – Schembri et al., 2010; African moonfish – Vella & Deidun, 2008) and of other marine species, aside from fish, reported from the Maltese islands for the first time, such as the upside-down jellyfish (Schembri et al., 2009) and the nomadic jellyfish (Deidun et al., 2011).
Shaun Arrigo (Planet Sea) and Edward Scicluna (Atlam) have recorded the African hind and biologist Alan Deidun from the University of Malta will publish his findings in The Journal of the Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment.
