The First Substantiated Record of Areolate Grouper Epinephelus areolatus (Serranidae) and Additional Records of Pilotfish Naucrates ductor (Carangidae) from the Syrian Coast (Eastern Mediterranean Sea)Saad, Adib (Avtor) Khrema, Lana (Avtor) Alnesser, Amina (Avtor) Barakat, Issa (Avtor) Capapé, Christian (Avtor) Levant BasinLessepsian migrationcommensalismelarge sharks and rayspopulationA specimen of the non-indigenous species areolate grouper Epinephelus areolatus (Forsskål, 1775) and two specimens of pilotfish Naucrates ductor (Linnaeus 1758) were fished from the coastal waters off Latakia, Syria. The finding of E. areolatus constitutes the first substantiated record of this species for Syrian marine waters and the third for the entire Mediterranean Sea. The areolate grouper is a Lessepsian migrant from the Red Sea which entered the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. N. ductor, on the other hand, has been known to inhabit the Mediterranean Sea together with several other fish species. However, the semi-obligate commensal relationship that it develops with large sharks and rays could explain the species’ occurrence in both the Mediterranean and Syrian marine waters. The capture of N. ductor reported herein is the second record for the Syrian coast.20232026-07-09 15:06:23Delo ni kategorizirano30986slImetniki avtorskih pravic na prispevkih so avtorji. CC BY-NC 4.0