First Record of Epinephelus areolatus (Epinephelidae) from the South-Eastern Mediterranean, TurkeyErgüden, Deniz (Avtor) Ayas, Deniz (Avtor) Turan, Cemal (Avtor) exotic groupernew recordmigrationTurkish coastThe present paper represents the first report of areolate grouper Epinephelus areolatus Forsskal, 1775, from the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. A specimen of E. areolatus was caught by hook and line, at a depth of 8 m, off the coast of Arsuz in the Bay of Iskenderun, on 22 April 2023. The captured specimen of E. areolatus measured 28.5 cm in total length and 23.5 cm in standard length. This species entered the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. The current record increases the number of exotic grouper species reported in the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey, to five.20232026-07-10 09:01:41Delo ni kategorizirano31016slImetniki avtorskih pravic na prispevkih so avtorji. CC BY-NC 4.0