Northward range extension of the nakedband gaper, champsodon nudivittis (ogilby, 1895) (osteichthyes: champsodontidae), towards maden island, Edremit bay, Turkey

Abstract

Introduction The introduction of alien species to a new ecosystem is considered to be major threat to its biodiversity, structure and function (Boudouresque, 2005). The majority of exotic fish species in the Mediterranean is of Indo-Pacific origin and therefore considered to be Lessepsian migrants (Galil, 2009). As in other Mediterranean areas, Turkey is equally affected by migrants transiting the Suez Canal in ballast water (Zaitsev and Ozturk, 2001; Cinar et al., 2005; Bari- € che, 2010). Champsodon nudivittis is native to the West Pacific (Madagascar, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia) at depths down to 335 m (Nemeth, 1994). Champsodon nudivittis was recorded in the Iskenderun Bay, Turkey (Cicek and Bilecenoglu, 2009; Bariche, 2010), off Ashdod and in the Red Sea (Goren et al., 2011), Finike Bay (Erguden and Turan, 2011), the Gulf of Antalya (Gokoglu et al., 2011), the western Indian Ocean (Ganga € et al., 2013), as well as in Ekincik Bay and Fethiye Bay (Filiz et al., 2014). Filiz et al. (2014) also provided the length–weight relationship of the nakedband gaper in the Aegean Sea. The finding of C. nudivittis described in this paper is a new record for the northern Aegean Sea, Turkey.