Aquatic Invasions (2007) Volume 2, Issue 2: 95-98 URL: http://www.aquaticinvasions.ru © 2007 European Research Network on Aquatic Invasive Species Research article First record of the Red Sea immigrant Chrysallida fischeri (Hornung and Mermod, 1925) (Gastropoda: Pyramidellidae) from Greek waters Paraskevi Louizidou 1 , Maria Thessalou-Legaki 1 and Argyro Zenetos 2 * 1 Department of Zoology - Marine Biology, School of Biology, University of Athens Panepistimiopolis, GR 15784, Athens, Greece 2 Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, Anavissos 19013, Attica, Greece * Corresponding author E-mail: zenetos@ath.hcmr.gr Received 5 March 2007; accepted in revised form 12 March 2007 Abstract The Red Sea mollusc Chrysallida fischeri (Hornung and Mermod, 1925) was collected in 2005 off Makri, Rhodes, Greece. This is the first record of the species in the Aegean Sea. The presence of both live specimens and shells suggest that C. fischeri is well established in the area. Key words: Chrysallida fischeri, Mollusca, alien species, Lessepsian immigrant, Rhodes, Aegean Sea, Greece Introduction The genus Chrysallida is represented by 48 species in European waters (CLEMAM website), seven of which, namely C. brusinai (Cossmann 1921), C. suturalis (Philippi 1844), C. terebellum (Philippi 1844), C. pirinthella (Melvill 1910), C. maiae (Hornung and Mermod 1924), C. micronana (Hornung and Mermod 1924) and C. fischeri (Hornung and Mermod 1925), occur in the Mediterreanean (Mienis and Zaslow 2004, Öztürk and van Aartsen 2006). The last four originated from the Red Sea and were introduced in the 20th century via the Suez Canal (Gofas and Zenetos 2003, Öztürk and van Aartsen 2006). The first record of C. fischeri in the Mediterranean was from Haifa Bay, Israel (van Aartsen and Carrozza 1979). The species is well established in Israel (Barash and Danin 1986, Bogi and Galil 1999, Mienis and Zaslow 2004). Later, the species was found in south Turkey in the Gulf of Iskenderun (Micali and Palazzi 1992) and in Tasucu (Buzzurro and Greppi 1995). The latest record in the south Adriatic (Mazziotti et al. 2002) reveals that the species has expanded westwards. The present work reports its presence in the SE Aegean Sea. 95 Louizidou et al., First record of Chrysallida fischeri from Greek waters Methods Chrysallida fischeri was collected in the framework of a benthic survey in July-August 2005 around the islet Makri (W Rhodes Isl.). Sampling was conducted by scuba diving along nine transects (stations) at 1, 10, 15, and 30 m depth (Figure 1, Annex) using a 15x15 cm quadrat equipped with a net of 0.5 mm opening, on both hard (shallower) and sandy (deeper) bottom. Stations 2 and 3 (at 30 m depth) are located under floating aquaculture fish cages. Our shells have 6-7 whorls and measure approximately 1.6-2.7 mm in length and 0.761.13 mm in width. Their color is white or creamy with yellow or brown stripes parallel to the whorls (Figure 2). Figure 2. Chrysallida fischeri from Makri islet (W Rhodes, S Aegean Sea). Size: 2.7x1.13 mm (Photo by P. Louizidou) Figure 1. Geographical location and stations of Chrysallida fischeri occurrence (in circles). The material was preserved in 4% formaldehyde with Rose Bengal, and after sorting in 75% alcohol. The specimens are deposited in the University of Athens (collection number ZMUA 4053) and the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. Results and Discussion Among 481 molluscs identified to 38 species, three live specimens of C. fischeri were found in Makri. Following this finding, the shell grit of the samples was sorted, and additional 11 shells were found (see Annex). The species was found only on sandy bottom with or without Posidonia oceanica (Linnaeus) Delile, in July and August 2005, at depths of 10 and 30 m, in four of the nine transects. 96 Biological invasions have been recognized as a serious threat in the Mediterranean (EEA 2006). The main vector of introduction is the progressive penetration via the Suez Canal (Lessepsian migration), and thus the area mostly affected by Lessepsian species is the Levantine Sea (Por 1990, Galil and Zenetos 2002). Pancucci-Papadopoulou et al. (2005) have shown an increasing trend in the introduction of alien species in Greece, which is proportionate to the trend of alien species recorded in the Mediterranean (UNEP/MAP 2004) as well as in European Seas (Gollasch 2006). Zoobenthos and particularly Mollusca is a taxonomic group with most representatives among aliens (Streftaris et al. 2005, Zenetos et al. 2005). Including the present species, the number of alien marine species recorded from Greece (Pancucci-Papadopoulou et al. 2005), rises to 129, 29 of which belong to molluscs. Other findings of alien molluscs (Daskos, unpublished Louizidou et al., First record of Chrysallida fischeri from Greek waters information) support further the statement of molluscan susceptibility to invade and spread in other seas. The finding of a significant number of C. fischeri specimens, both alive and dead, reveals that the species is well established around Rhodes. This is expected considering a) the geographic position of the area, b) the environmental conditions such as higher temperature and salinity that are more favorable for the alien species arriving via the Suez Canal (Zenetos et al. 2004) and c) the hydrography of the Eastern Mediterranean which is characterized by nearshore sea currents running anticlockwise from the coasts of Egypt south of the Turkey coasts, up to Rhodes island and then to the South Aegean (Poulos et al. 1997). The susceptibility of the wider Rhodes area (Dodecanese) to receive invaders has been demonstrated by Pancucci-Papadopoulou et al. (2005). The finding of C. fischeri in Rhodes fills the geographical gap between the easternmost parts of the Mediterranean and Pescara region in the Adriatic Sea where it was recently found (Mazziotti at al. 2002), and further documents the species westward expansion following the route of many other Lessepsian immigrants. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Mr. Savvas Hatzinikolaou for the acquisition of samples by diving and technical support. References Aartsen JJ van, and Carrozza F (1979) Chrysallida fischeri (Hornung & Mermod, 1925): a Red Sea species found at the Israeli Mediterranean coast. Bollettino Malacologico 15(1-2):29-30 Barash A and Danin Z (1986) Further additions to the knowledge of Indo-Pacific Mollusca in the Mediterranean Sea (Lessepsian migrants). Spixiana 9(2):117-141 Bogi C and Galil SB (1999) Nuovi ritrovamenti di immigranti lessepsiani lungo le coste israeliane. La Conchiglia 292: 22-29 Buzzurro G and Greppi E (1995) Note sul materiale tipico di origine lessepsiana della collezione Hornung & Mermod. Notiziario del CISMA 17:5-16 CLEMAM website: http://www.somali.asso.fr/clemam/ accessed on 1.3.07 EEA (2006) Priority issues in the Mediterranean Sea (Papathanassiou E, Wlodarczyk E, Zenetos A). 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Journal of Marine Systems 13: 225-244 Streftaris N, Zenetos A and Papathanasiou E (2005) Globalisation in marine ecosystems: the story of nonindigenous marine species across European seas. Oceanography and Marine Biology an Annual Review 43: 419453 Zenetos A, Cinar ME, Pancucci-Papadopoulou MA, Harmelin JG, Furnari G, Andaloro F, Bellou N, Streftaris N and Zibrowius H (2005) Annotated list of marine alien species in the Mediterranean with records of the worst invasive species. Mediterranean Marine Science 6(2): 63-118 Zenetos A, Gofas S, Russo G and Templado J (2004) CIESM atlas of exotic species in the Mediterranean. Vol.3, Molluscs. CIESM Publishers, Monaco UNEP/MAP (2004) Marine pollution indicators Fact sheets. Document UNEP(DEC)MEDWG.264/Inf.14 97 Louizidou et al., First record of Chrysallida fischeri from Greek waters Annex Location and characteristics of the stations in Makri islet (W. Rhodes, S Aegean Sea) where Chrysallida fischeri was present in July-August 2005 Latitude N Longitude E Depth (m) Description of the biotope Number of specimens 1 36°15.198' 27°46.986' 30 sandy bottom 8 shells 2 36°15.345' 27°46.217' 30 27°46.475' 10 Stations 4 98 36°15.885' sandy bottom, under the fish cages sand among Posidonia oceanica 1 alive 1 alive 8 36°15.244' 27°45.608' 10 sandy bottom 2 shells 8 36°15.244' 27°45.608' 30 sandy bottom 1alive, 1 shell Collector S. Hatzinikolaou P. Louizidou S. Hatzinikolaou P. Louizidou S. Hatzinikolaou P. Louizidou S. Hatzinikolaou P. Louizidou S. Hatzinikolaou P. Louizidou