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First record of the redlip blenny Ophioblennius atlanticus (Osteichthyes: Blenniidae) in the Mediterranean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2015

Mark-Anthony Falzon
Mark-Anthony Falzon*
Affiliation:
University of Malta, 9 Erin Serracino Inglott Street, Cospicua, Malta
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M.A. Falzon, University of Malta, 9, Erin Serracino Inglott Street, Cospicua, Malta email: markanthonyfalzon@gmail.com

Abstract

The redlip blenny, Ophioblennius atlanticus, is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, (central Mediterranean, Malta). The morphology of the fish and the sighting location are described here and the biogeographical relevance of the record discussed.

Keywords

alien speciesoccurrenceOphioblennius atlanticusBlenniidaeMaltaCentral Mediterranean

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 8 , 2015 , e80
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

INTRODUCTION

In Malta, the combtooth blennies (Blenniidae) were previously represented by 16 known species (Trapani, Reference Trapani1838; Gulia, Reference Gulia1861; Despott, Reference Despott1919; Cilia, Reference Cilia1990; Lanfranco, Reference Lanfranco1993; Falzon, Reference Falzon1999, Reference Falzon2009; Falzon & Falzon, Reference Falzon and Falzon2013). The first Mediterranean record in Maltese waters of Ophioblennius atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836), reported in this work, increases the species list to 17.

Ophioblennius atlanticus occurs in the eastern Atlantic, in the oceanic islands and along the west coast of Africa from Senegal to Angola; in the western Atlantic it occurs in Bermuda and North Carolina (USA), through the Caribbean to Brazil, and rarely in the Gulf of Mexico (Froese & Pauly, Reference Froese and Pauly2014). Springer (Reference Springer1962) lists it as occurring along the west coast of Africa and the adjacent islands to the eastern coast of Brazil. Ré & Almeida (Reference Ré and Almeida1981) state that there are two subspecies, Ophioblennius atlanticus atlanticus and Ophioblennius atlanticus macclurei, and that the former occurs in Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Senegal, São Tomé, Armo Bom, Ascension, St. Helena, Angola and Brazil, while the latter occurs in Bermuda, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, the Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico, the Western Caribbean Sea, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Virgin Islands, the Saba Islands, the Anguilla Islands, Barbados and Venezuela. Almada et al. (Reference Almada, Oliveira, Gonçalves, Almeida, Santos and Wirtz2001) record Ophioblennius atlanticus in the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, tropical Africa, Ascension and St. Helena. Labelle & Nursall (Reference Labelle and Nursall1992) describe Ophioblennius macclurei as a common shallow-water reef fish in the western central Atlantic, ranging from North Carolina to Venezuela; this species is common in shallow-water reef habitats, and particularly in forereefs, rubble/algae zones and offshore rocky areas (Greenfield & Johnson, Reference Greenfield and Johnson1990). To my knowledge, the occurrence of this species in the Mediterranean has never been mentioned.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One individual of Ophioblennius atlanticus was first noticed on 9 September 2014, in shallow water at an inlet, Il-Qala t-Tawwalija (35°49′21.31″N 14°33′44.01″E), also known as Il-Kalanka, off the Delimara peninsula in the southernmost part of the island of Malta. The fish was similar in size to a large specimen of Parablennius sanguinolentus (Pallas, 1814), a common species in the area. However, it appeared much darker overall, lacked the specks and dots characteristic of that species, and had a marked contrast between its generally dark body and light head region. The specimen was observed at close quarters, at a depth of approximately 1.7 m for about half an hour, during which time it swam rapidly along a rocky platform and stopped on a ledge several times.

The specimen was observed and extensively photographed in the same location on 10 and 11 September 2014. The pictures taken (see Figures 1–3) revealed useful characteristics that could be used to identify the species. A further inspection at that location on 14 September was unsuccessful.

Fig. 1.

Ophioblennius atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836), lateral view.

Fig. 2.

Ophioblennius atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836), lateral view.

Fig. 3.

Ophioblennius atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836), detail of head.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The overall shape of the observed redlip blenny was elongated and laterally compressed towards the posterior end. The head profile was vertical in front of the eyes, with prominent sets of comb teeth clearly visible in the heavy-lipped mouth. Three sets of tentacles were evident around the head: staghorn-like tentacles on the nostrils, single elongated and somewhat-fleshy yellowish supra-orbitals, and small bifurcated tentacles on the nape. The body was a uniform dark purplish-brown, lighter and somewhat yellowish-grey on the anterior belly and around the head. The head was patchy with a light and dark blotched appearance, and there was a very noticeable eye-like spot just behind the eye. The lips were a reddish-pink. The caudal fin was darker at the base and had an overall purplish sheen. The pectoral fins were lighter than the body and had a salmon-pink sheen. The dorsal fin was dark (same colour as the body) at the base of the spines and had three bands, lemon-yellow, dark apricot, and salmon-pink, in that sequence, towards the top edge.

The upper littoral zone at the sighting location (see Figure 4) consisted of overlapping rocky ledges with patches of photophilic algae, mainly Dictyopteris polypodioides (A.P. de Candolle) J.V. Lamouroux, 1809 and Jania rubens (Linnaeus) J.V. Lamouroux, 1816, with Peyssonnelia sp. as sub-dominant. Sporelings of Dictyota sp., colonial cyanobacteria including Rivularia atra Roth ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886, and encrusting coralline algae carpeted the rock.

Fig. 4.

Habitat in which the species was observed: inshore, rocky platforms. Depth approximately 1.7 m. Il-Qala t-Tawwalija, Delimara, Malta, photographed on 11 September 2014.

The benthic and demersal diurnal fish assemblage in the area was typical of inshore rocky ledges in the Maltese islands: Labrus merula Linnaeus, 1758, Symphodus tinca (Linnaeus, 1758), Symphodus roissali (Risso, 1810), Symphodus rostratus (Bloch, 1791), Symphodus ocellatus (Linnaeus, 1758), Symphodus mediterraneus (Linnaeus, 1758), Thalassoma pavo (Linnaeus, 1758), Coris julis (Linnaeus, 1758), Sparisoma cretense (Linnaeus, 1758), Siganus luridus (Rüppell, 1829) (see Schembri et al., Reference Schembri, Deidun and Falzon2012), Serranus scriba (Linnaeus, 1758), Serranus cabrilla (Linnaeus, 1758), Epinephelus marginatus (Lowe, 1834), Epinephelus costae (Steindachner, 1878), Apogon imberbis (Linnaeus, 1758), Scorpaena maderensis Valenciennes, 1833, Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758, various Gobiidae sp., Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus, 1758, Tripterygion tripteronotum (Risso, 1810), Tripterygion melanurum Guichenot, 1850 and Muraena helena Linnaeus, 1758. The Blenniidae were represented by Aidablennius sphynx (Valenciennes, 1836), Parablennius gattorugine (Linnaeus, 1758), Parablennius sanguinolentus (Pallas, 1814), Parablennius pilicornis (Cuvier, 1829), Parablennius incognitus (Bath, 1968), Parablennius zvonimiri (Kolombatovic, 1892), Scartella cristata (Linnaeus, 1758), Coryphoblennius galerita (Linnaeus, 1758), Lipophrys trigloides (Valenciennes, 1836), Lipophrys canevae (Vinciguerra, 1880) and Salaria pavo (Risso, 1810).

The present record is the first for the Mediterranean Sea and it may be useful to discuss some of the potential dynamics. There have been various recent additions of alien species to the ichthyofauna of Malta. Sciberras & Schembri (Reference Sciberras and Schembri2007) list ten species, six of which are Lessepsian and four probably Atlantic immigrants. A further eight species have since been recorded (Vella & Deidun, Reference Vella and Deidun2008; Borg, Reference Borg2009; Deidun et al., Reference Deidun, Vella, Sciberras and Sammut2010, Reference Deidun, Castriota and Arrigo2011; Schembri & Tonna, Reference Schembri and Tonna2011; Zammit & Schembri, Reference Zammit and Schembri2011; Deidun & Castriota, Reference Deidun and Castriota2014; Castriota & Deidun, Reference Castriota and Deidun2014).

It seems unlikely that Ophioblennius atlanticus was formerly regularly present in Maltese waters. First, because adult redlip blennies are diurnal, large and unmistakeable. Second, because I systematically, and for many years, conducted surveys on fish (Blenniidae especially) by snorkelling around the Maltese coast, and especially in the record location. In a similar habitat at Xlendi (36°01′45.90″N 14°12′56.46″E) on the island of Gozo, I recorded a specimen that likely belonged to Ophioblennius atlanticus on 20 September 1998. On that occasion, species identification remained doubtful due to the absence of photos.

There are a number of different mechanisms, which might explain the arrival of Ophioblennius atlanticus along the coast of Malta. The first is the introduction through ballast water. Ballast water is a well-known vector of alien species in the Mediterranean (David & Gollasch, Reference David and Gollasch2008). Considering that the location of the present record is less than 1 km away from the entrance of a commercial harbour, which hosts a container terminal (the Malta Freeport) and is a hub of international shipping, it is reasonable to suppose that the fish was transported in ship ballast water. To explain the first Mediterranean record of the Indo-Pacific blenniid species Omobranchus punctatus (Valenciennes, 1836), Golani (Reference Golani2004) indicated the ballast or bilge water, or the fouling of a ship as the most probably ways of spreading. Wonham et al. (Reference Wonham, Carlton, Ruiz and Smith2000) attribute the world-wide invasive success of the Blenniidae to their crevicolous nature, which enables them to exploit the small openings in ballast-intake holes, thus surviving along the sea-route between the departure and arrival sites.

The second possibility is that the species occurred on the southern shores of the Alboran Sea (as many Atlantic species do), a poorly investigated region that is relatively understudied (R.A. Patzner, personal communication; P.J. Schembri, personal communication), and that it recently started to extend its range eastwards.

There is a third possibility. The larval stage of Ophioblennius atlanticus is known to be pelagic (Labelle & Nursall, Reference Labelle and Nursall1985). The duration of the pelagic larval phase for the species has been estimated at approximately seven weeks (28–69 days, with a mean of 48.7 days) (Labelle & Nursall, Reference Labelle and Nursall1992). It is possible that the present record originated as a pelagic larva transported by surface currents from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean. This method of spreading would explain the occurrence of this species in the central but not in the western Mediterranean. The sea hare Aplysia dactylomela Rang 1828 (Mollusca: Opistobranchia) is an Atlantic species that first appeared in the Mediterranean in Lampedusa and then spread eastwards, completely bypassing the western Mediterranean. As proposed by Valdés et al. (Reference Valdés, Alexander, Crocetta, Baki Yokeş, Giacobbe, Poursanidis, Zenetos, Cervera, Caballer, Galil and Schembri2013), larvae of the species would have arrived into the Mediterranean by a weakening of the Canary Current or the Almería-Oran front (possibly as a result of successive mild winters as a result of global climate change), or both. In that case, the powerful Algerian current would be able to carry such larvae rapidly into the central Mediterranean, bypassing most of the western Mediterranean.

Finally, it is possible that the specimen originated in the aquarium trade. Ophioblennius atlanticus is a widely-marketed species, and it is well-established that the aquarium trade is an important vector of both freshwater and marine aquatic invasive species (Semmens et al., Reference Semmens, Buhle, Salomon and Pattengill-Semmens2004; Maceda-Veiga et al., Reference Maceda-Veiga, Escribano-Alacid, de Sostoa and García-Berthou2013). However, Tarkus Aqualife, the leading traders in Malta of marine aquarium fish informed me that Ophioblennius atlanticus was not a species they had ever imported or were familiar with.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like the thank Professor Robert A. Patzner (Universität Salzburg) for confirming the identification, Professor Patrick J. Schembri (University of Malta) for commenting on an earlier draft of the paper and for his help generally, Professor Alan Deidun (University of Malta) for his suggestions on the bibliography, Edwin Lanfranco (University of Malta) for identifying the algae and two anonymous reviewers for their useful suggestions. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for profit sectors.

References

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Figure 0

Fig. 1. Ophioblennius atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836), lateral view.

Figure 1

Fig. 2. Ophioblennius atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836), lateral view.

Figure 2

Fig. 3. Ophioblennius atlanticus (Valenciennes, 1836), detail of head.

Figure 3

Fig. 4. Habitat in which the species was observed: inshore, rocky platforms. Depth approximately 1.7 m. Il-Qala t-Tawwalija, Delimara, Malta, photographed on 11 September 2014.