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First record of Abudefduf vaigiensis from the Adriatic Sea

Occurrences of alien fish species in the Adriatic Sea have increased in the last decade. Various factors such as climate change, anthropogenic activity and lessepsian migration have contributed to this phenomenon. Here we present the first record of Abudefduf vagiensis, a fish of Indo-Pacific origin, from the eastern Adriatic Sea. On 13th September 2018, a specimen of A. vaigiensis has been observed swimming near the shore in Split, Croatia. A recreational spearfisher shot a high quality underwater video of the fish swimming at a depth of 3 meters among rocks and schools of native pomacentrid Chromis chromis. Quality of still photographs extracted from the video footage was sufficient to allow us identification of the species and exclude possible confusion with closely related species, A. saxatilis. In its native range, Abudefduf vaigiensis is distributed from the Central Pacific, to the eastern coast of Africa including the Red Sea. Presence of this species in the Mediterranean Sea has been documented in Italy, Maltese Islands, Israel and Lebanon. It’s presence in the Adriatic Sea raises questions on the possible means of introduction of this species.

Abudefduf, alien species, introduced species, mediterranean

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