First record of Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae) in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea
In: Crustaceana. Brill Academic Publishers: Leiden; Köln; New York; Boston. ISSN 0011-216X; e-ISSN 1568-5403, meer
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Abstract |
The opening of the sea level Suez Canal in 1869 and the increase in commercial shipping routes have led to the colonization of the Mediterranean Sea by Indo- Pacific species. These first established populations along the Levantine coasts, and then spread into the central Mediterranean, at least in part by shipping transport of larvae, juveniles, or adult specimens. One of those species is Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758), a crab belonging to the Portunidae, and until now found in Italy only on the eastern Sicilian coasts. |
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