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The biometric characteristics of Trachinus araneus, Trachinus draco and Trachinus radiatus from the Egyptian Mediterranean waters at the West of Alexandria City, were studied. In total, 105, 96 and 55 specimens of these three Fish species were sampled, respectively, by the use of bottom trawls operated in the sectors of El-Dabaa and Sidi Abd El Rahman. The morphological characteristic and related index ratio were determined. The results showed that T. araneus total length varied from 10.9 to 30.0 cm TL with mean length of 19.87 ± 5.43 cm TL and a number of horizontal dots appear to be distributed along the lateral line, T. draco total length was 11.8 to 27.6 cm TL with a mean length of 17.85 ± 4.23 cm TL, and specimens of this Fish species showed yellow vertical oblique lines on the body. On the other hand, T. radiatus is characterized by a total length of 10.6 to 35.0 cm TL with a mean length 18.04 ± 4.87 cm TL, and by circular brown dots spread on the whole body and head. Furthermore, these three Fish species have poisonous spines, one on each operculum, and both spines on the internal border of the dorsal part of each eye orbit. The morphometric regression of each morphometric character showed close agreement between the observed and calculated values.

The present study aimed to analyze the non-target catch in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters, off Port Said, during the period from spring 2017 to winter 2018. The analysis revealed that from 75 non-target species, fish constituted about 69.4% of the total catch weight, whereas invertebrates reached about 30.6%. For non-target fish, 51 fishes were identified (50 bony fishes and one elasmobranch), of which 17 lessepsian species were found. The high percentage of fish (82.67%) was with an average length between 4.0 and

This article aimed to assess the species composition, seasonal distribution, length–weight relationships (LWRs); age composition and the non-indigenous species (Lessepsian species) of the non-target catch obtained by commercial bottom trawlers operated between Al Agamy and Abu Qir (west and east off Alexandria, Egypt). A total of 44 economic species and 45 non-economic species were recorded forming 51.2 % and 48.8 %, respectively of the total examined catch weight during the whole year 2014. The high diversity indices were recorded in spring and summer for economic species. The recruits of nine mostly important economic species in the region were recorded. Four species namely: Spicara maena; Pagellus acarne; Trachurus picturatus and Nemipterus japonicus had lengths between 8.5 and 10.9 cm appeared in spring while other five species namely: Pagellus erythrinus; Boops boops; Serranus hepatus; Spicara smaris and Mullus barbatus had lengths ranged between 7.00 and 11.00 cm appeared in summer. The exponent “b” of the length–weight relationship for 22 species varied between 2.1316 and 3.2415 for economic species and ranged between 2.6341 and 3.4406 for non-economic species. Age analysis showed that the life span of the majority of economic species is two years. The number of Lessepsian species recorded in this area was 22 species of which eleven were economic.

WOS: 000399341900018, Science Citation Index Expanded, This Collective Article presents information on 22 species belonging to 5 Phyla, arranged geographically from west to east. The new records were found in 8 countries as follows: Spain: first record of the two scarcely known nemerteans Baseodiscus delineatus and Notospermus geniculatus in Formentera; Malta: second record of the alien fish Lagocephalus sceleratus; Italy: the alien polychaete Syllis pectinans and the isopod Paranthura japonica, as well as the cryptogenic opisthobranch Anteaeolidiella lurana, were found in the fouling assemblages along the docks of the port of Livorno. New decapod records are reported from Sicily (the alien Callinectes sapidus and the native Pachygrapsus maurus) and Apulia (Percnon gibbesi and Procambarus clarkii); the lesser amberjack Seriola fasciata extended its geographical range to the Egadi Isands and Siganus luridus was documented for the first time along the Ionian coasts of Apulia and Calabria. Slovenia: the first record of the alien bivalve Brachidontes pharaonis is reported, together with a survey of up to date Adriatic records. Greece: the first record of the gastropod Rhinoclavis kochi is reported from Gavdos island. In addition, two records of endangered and rare cartilaginous fish were reported, namely, the shark Hexanchus griseus and the ray Leucoraja fullonica, as well as additional records of Siganus luridus for Lesvos and Malleus regula and Fulvia fragilis from Astypalaia. Turkey: the black wing flyingfish Hirundichthys rondeletii is reported for the very first time from the Black Sea. Egypt: the Indo-Pacific crab Halimede ochtodes is reported as established in Port Said. In addition, biometric parameters and meristic counts are reported for Anthias anthias in Damietta. Cyprus: the alien opisthobranch gastropod Bursatella leachii is reported for first time., Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS); East and South European Network for Invasive Alien Species [33-51/30.06.2015]; Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness [BES-2013-063551, CTM2014-57949-R]; Duzce University Research Fund [2013.5.1.189]; Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning of Slovenia, The study coauthored by Valentina Pitacco, Lovrenc Lipej and Fabio Crocetta is part of Valentina's PhD study funded by the Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS), and was supported by the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning of Slovenia. The study of alien species from Slovenia involving Fabio Crocetta was partially funded by the East and South European Network for Invasive Alien Species - a tool to support the management of alien species in Bulgaria (ESENIAS-TOOLS) (EEA funded - Contract No..-33-51/30.06.2015). Fabio Crocetta and Miquel Pontes are grateful to Alper Karabacak (Kyrenia, Cyprus) for sharing data on Bursatella leachii. Authors Gianni Insacco and Bruno Zava are grateful to the professional fisherman Mr Alessandro Bonfissuti, owner of "Erika", for providing the C. sapidus specimen studied. The authors warmly thank Maria Corsini-Foka (Hellenic Centre for Marine Research) for useful comments, which improved a previous draft of their note. Authors Aikaterini Dogrammatzi and Caterina Stamouli would like to thank Dr E. Leukaditou, J. Dokos, G. Christidis, I. Fytilakos and N. Fotiadis, members of the MEDITS scientific team, for their valuable help during samplings and also the captain and the crew of the fishing boat "TAKIS-MIMIS". Fernando Angel Fernandez-Alvarez was supported by a pre-doctoral fellowship of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness (BES-2013-063551). His co-authors, Ivan Acevedo and Paula C. Rodriguez-Flores, were funded under the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness project CTM2014-57949-R. Ch. Mytilineou and A. Anastasopoulou would like to thank the onboard team of the EPILEXIS project (C. J. Smith, E. Lefkaditou, K. Papadopoulou, C. Stamouli, J. Dokos, G. Oikonomidis, E. Kypraiou); C. J. Smith, in particular, for the photographic material, as well as the captain and the crew of F/V 'Takis-Mimis' for supporting the survival of the Bluntnose Sixgill Shark specimen. The study of D. Yaglioglu and C. Turan was financially supported by Duzce University Research Fund, Project Number: 2013.5.1.189 and coordinated by DY. For Malta, Alan Deidun and Murat Celik are grateful to the Maltese angler - David Agius-who caught the L. sceleratus specimen reported in this study.

WOS: 000423194500015, Science Citation Index Expanded, The "New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records" series includes new records of marine species found in the Mediterranean basin and/or information on the spatial distribution of already established species of particular interest. The current article presents information on 21 marine taxa classified per country according to their geographic position in the Mediterranean, from west to east. The new records per ecoregion are as follows: Algeria: the first record of the fish Etrumeus golanii is reported along the Algerian coast. Tunisia: the alien jellyfish Phyllorhiza punctata is reported for the first time in the Gulf of Gabes. Italy: the first record of Siganus rivulatus in the Strait of Sicily and a new record of Katsuwonus pelamis from the central Tyrrhenian Sea are reported. The establishment of the isopod of the genus Mesanthura in the northern Tyrrhenian with some notes on its ecology are also included. Croatia: signs of establishment of the Lessepsian Siganus luridus and the occurrence of the alien mollusc Rapana venosa are reported. Albania: the first record of the elasmobranch Alopias superciliosus and a recent sighting of the rare monk seal Monachus monachus in Albanian waters are given. Greece: signs of the establishment of the fish Parupeneus forsskali and of the ascidian Hermania momus in Hellenic Aegean waters are reported. Turkey: a new record of the fish P. forsskali and of the halacarid mites Acaromantis monnioti and Simognathus adriaticus are given, while the first case of Remora australis in association with delphinids and the occurrence of the sea star Coscinasterias tenuispina are reported. Also, the establishment of the two alien species Isognomon legumen and Viriola sp. [cf. corrugata] are presented. Egypt: the fish Bathygobius cyclopterus is reported for the first time in Mediterranean Sea waters. Also, a new record of Pagellus bogaraveo and a first record of Seriola fasciata in Egyptian Mediterranean waters are reported. Lebanon: the first record of Dondice banyulensis is presented., Interreg MED Project Mpa-Adapt Guiding Mediterranean MPAs through the climate change era: building resilience and adaptation; Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) [IP-2016-06-5251]; Rufford Foundation [19938-1]; Rufford Foundation; Marine Mammals Research Association; Interreg MED Project Mpa-Adapt Guiding Mediterranean MPAs through the climate change era: building resilience and adaptation; Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) [IP-2016-06-5251]; Rufford Foundation [19938-1]; Rufford Foundation; Marine Mammals Research Association; [R 2000 Eb F 42 / L43], Azzurro E. and Giardina F. are indebted to Giuseppe Maggiore and Peppino Sorrentino for providing all the information regarding the capture of Siganus rivulatus in Lampedusa Island; their study was supported by the Interreg MED Project Mpa-Adapt Guiding Mediterranean MPAs through the climate change era: building resilience and adaptation. Rabaoui L. and El Zrelli R. would like to thank all fishermen who provided information on the recent occurrence of Phyllorhiza punctata in the Gulf of Gabes. Dulcic J. and Dragicevic B. acknowledge the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) that partly supported their work under project IP-2016-06-5251. Giovos I. and Cakalli M. would like to warmly thank the fisherman Arsen Jupe for helping and assisting them in taking all the measurements. Bakiu R. and Cakalli M. would like to thank the Rufford Foundation (Project ref. 19938-1) for financially supporting the Mediterranean monk seal monitoring program along the Ionian coast of Albania; furthermore, they wish to warmly thank Eng. Agron Bakiu for the power supply system that he built for the camera traps.. Bas A.A. and Gonulal O. would like to thank Prof. Dr. Ivan Sazima and Isil Danyer for their help on species identification and the Rufford Foundation and Marine Mammals Research Association for their financial support. Durucan F. and Boyaci Y.O. wish to express special thanks to Dr. Matteo Dal Zotto (Universita degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Department of Life Sciences, Modena, Italy) who kindly sent them a copy of Dr. Morselli's article that was lacking from the first author's library. Durucan F. would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and also Suleyman Demirel University, Fisheries Faculty, Ecology and Limnology laboratory (Isparta, Turkey) for providing laboratory facilities. Crocetta F. and Bitar G. thank Jean Vacelet (Marseille, France) for the photo of Dondice banyulensis taken during the Franco-Lebanese cooperation program - CEDRE (1999-2002) (R 2000 Eb F 42 / L43). Kassar A. and Hemida F. are deeply grateful to the fisherman Benssada Djamel for providing the specimen of Etrumeus golanii.

WOS: 000392316700018 This Collective Article presents information on 26 taxa belonging to 8 Phyla and extending from the western Mediterranean to the Levantine Sea. The new records were found in 9 countries as follows: Spain: first record for the Mediterranean of the crab Cancer bellianus; Algeria: further records of the alien fish Lagocephalus sceleratus in western Algerian waters; Italy: first report on the presence and establishment of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi in Lessina and Varano Lagoons (W. Adriatic) and of Penaeus aztecus in Corigliano Gulf (Italian Ionian). Moreover, the extension of the distribution range of the polychaete Branchiomma bairdi to W. Sicily as well as that of the crab Ocypode cursor and the bryozoan Catenicella paradoxa to E. Sicily are cited. Slovenia: the record of the rare saccoglossan gastropod Placida cremoniana from Piran (Gulf of Trieste) is the first for the Adriatic; Greece: the native sea slug Eubranchus farrani is the first from the Eastern Mediterranean; many sightings of the bamboo corals Isididae distributed along all the E. Ionian Sea and the establishment of P. aztecus in all Greek waters are also reported for first time; the westernmost extension of the alien urchin Diadema setosum in Cretan waters is cited and new sightings of the alien species Goniobranchus annulatus and Pterois miles are presented. Turkey: the alien fish Champsodon capensis is reported for first time from the Aegean Sea and the native acari Agauopsis microrhyncha from the Levantine Sea; a new observation of the alien crab Atergatis roseus in Gulluk Bay-Aegean is also mentioned; Cyprus: first records of the alien urchin D. setosum and Lobotes surinamensis in Cypriot waters; Lebanon: several sightings of Monachus monachus from Lebanese waters indicate a potential better status for the species in the area; Egypt: first records of the alien crab Dorippe quadridens and the alien gastropods Nerita sanguinolenta and Conomurex persicus from the Mediterranean Egyptian waters; extension of the distribution range of Diodora funiculata and Diodora rueppellii and a second record of the alien Fulvia fragilis in the same area. COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action TD1209 Alien Challenge; EEA [33-51/30.06.2015]; Suleyman Demirel UniversitySuleyman Demirel University [SDU-BAP3973-D2-14, 3973-D2-14]; IDRC-Canada through Alexandria research Centre for Adaptation to Climate Change (ARCA); COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action TD1209 Alien Challenge; EEA [33-51/30.06.2015]; Suleyman Demirel UniversitySuleyman Demirel University [SDU-BAP3973-D2-14, 3973-D2-14]; IDRC-Canada through Alexandria research Centre for Adaptation to Climate Change (ARCA) The author N. Babali would like to thank his colleague Ms Faiza Alliouche for information gathering. Gianna Servello & P. Balisteri acknowledge the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action TD1209 Alien Challenge (GS) that partially funded the study of alien species recorded in the Italian Seas. P. Balisteri also wishes to thank Bruno Zava (Wilderness Studi Ambientali) for his advice. Fabio Crocetta acknowledges the East and South European Network for Invasive Alien Species - a tool to support the management of alien species in Bulgaria (ESENIAS-TOOLS) (EEA funded - Contract No. 33-51/30.06.2015) for supporting the study of alien species from central and eastern European countries; F. Amato (Schiavonea) and G. Rigido (Schiavone) kindly provided information, specimens and videos. Ch. Mytilineou would like to thank all the personnel who worked onboard during the surveys of the INTERREG II Greece-Italy & RESHIO projects, E. Kallias for the electronic storage of the photos and I. Maina & J. Dokos for map drawing. Kostas Kapiris and I. Maina are grateful to K. Tenekertzis, Ch. Dictiopoulos, S. Kavadas and the scientific coordinators of DCF Dr. Machias and Tserpes for providing relevant information and photographic material for P. aztecus. Vasilis Gerovasileiou & D. Poursanidis are grateful to Yiannis Iliopoulos and the Athos Scuba diving centre for providing the photographic material. S. Yapici & M. Celik would like to thank the local fisherman for providing samples and the anonymous reviewer for helpful and constructive comments. The study of F. Durucan & Y. O. Boyaci was financially supported by the Suleyman Demirel University, SDU-BAP3973-D2-14 project. Number: 3973-D2-14. P. Kleitou, F. Crocetta are grateful to D. Kletou (Cyprus), A. Antoniades (Cyprus) and S. Georgiou (Cyprus) who shared data and provided evidence. M. Bariche and F. Crocetta would like to acknowledge all colleagues, fishermen, scuba divers and friends who shared their photos and videos. The work of Moussa and A. Zenetos is part of a project entitled "Pattern of diversity and climate change in a Mediterranean transition zone", which was supported by IDRC-Canada through a small research grant provided by the Alexandria research Centre for Adaptation to Climate Change (ARCA) to the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Egypt; thanks are also due to Mrs. Marwa Ismaeil and Mrs. Marwa Samir for their assistance. Finally, the authors would also like to thank N.J. Xentidis for drawing the map with the records as well as the anonymous reviewers for their useful and constructive comments.

This Collective Article presents information on 37 taxa belonging to 6 Phyla and extending from the western Mediterranean to the Levantine Sea. The new records were found in 10 countries as follows: Algeria: first reports on the presence of the fish species Lesueurigobius sanzi , L. friesii , L. suerii and Luvarus imperiali ; France: first record of the alien nudibranch Godiva quadricolor ; Italy: first record of an adult-sized red emperor snapper Lutjanus sebae from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea; first record of the pantropical rhodophyte Chondria curvilineata and the Lessepsian fish Siganus luridus from southern Sicily; record of a large pregnant female Dusky shark Carcharhinus obscurus off Sicily; Albania: first record of the fish Ruvettus pretiosus , new records of the alien molluscs Conomurex persicus , Bursatella leachii , Dendostrea cf. folium , Fulvia fragilis and Ruditapes philippinarum and additional report of the alien bivalve Pinctada imbricata radiata ; Montenegro: first record of the sea slug Thecacera pennigera in the Adriatic Sea; Greece: first record of the invasive calcarean sponge Paraleucilla magna in Greek waters; occupancy estimation of the established cryptogenic rhodophyte Ganonema farinosum , the alien crustacean Percnon gibbesi and the alien fish species Fistularia commersonii , Siganus luridus , and S. rivulatus along the Cretan coastline; first record of the alien mollusc Sticteulima lentiginosa in Greek waters suggesting a westward unintentional expansion of this species; Turkey: photographic evidence of interactions of the monk seal Monachus monachus with sea-cage farms in the Turkish Aegean Sea and first record of the yellow boxfish Ostracion cubicus in the Turkish Mediterranean; Cyprus: first records of the rare speleophilic fish Thorogobius ephippiatus and Grammonus ater in Cyprus, extending the known distribution of the latter Mediterranean endemic species eastwards; first records of the alien fish Kyphosus vaigiensis and the alien crustacean species Macrophthalmus indicus and Carupa tenuipes as well as additional records of the alien echinoderm Diadema setosum and the alien ascidian Symplegma brakenhielmi in the country; Lebanon: first report on the presence of the four alien fish species Cephalopholis taeniops , Equulites popei , Pseudupeneus prayensis and Sphoeroides pachygaster ; Egypt: first record of the Lessepsian fish Synchiropus sechellensis in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters.