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To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12, 649 records. It includes 247 taxa, of which 217 are Animalia, 25 Plantae and 5 Chromista, from 23 countries surrounding the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Chordata was the most abundant taxonomic group, followed by Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida. In terms of species records, Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, Saurida lessepsianus, Pterois miles, Upeneus moluccensis, Charybdis (Archias) longicollis, and Caulerpa cylindracea were the most numerous. The temporal distribution of the records ranges from 1973 to 2022, with 44% of the records in 2020–2021. Lethrinus borbonicus is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while Pomatoschistus quagga, Caulerpa cylindracea, Grateloupia turuturu, and Misophria pallida are first records for the Black Sea ; Kapraunia schneideri is recorded for the second time in the Mediterranean and for the first time in Israel ; Prionospio depauperata and Pseudonereis anomala are reported for the first time from the Sea of Marmara. Many first country records are also included, namely: Amathia verticillata (Montenegro), Ampithoe valida (Italy), Antithamnion amphigeneum (Greece), Clavelina oblonga (Tunisia and Slovenia), Dendostrea cf. folium (Syria), Epinephelus fasciatus (Tunisia), Ganonema farinosum (Montenegro), Macrorhynchia philippina (Tunisia), Marenzelleria neglecta (Romania), Paratapes textilis (Tunisia), and Botrylloides diegensis (Tunisia).

To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,649 records. It includes 247 taxa, of which 217 are Animalia, 25 Plantae and 5 Chromista, from 23 countries surrounding the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Chordata was the most abundant taxonomic group, followed by Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida. In terms of species records, Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, Saurida lessepsianus, Pterois miles, Upeneus moluccensis, Charybdis (Archias) longicollis, and Caulerpa cylindracea were the most numerous. The temporal distribution of the records ranges from 1973 to 2022, with 44% of the records in 2020–2021. Lethrinus borbonicus is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while Pomatoschistus quagga, Caulerpa cylindracea, Grateloupia turuturu, and Misophria pallida are first records for the Black Sea; Kapraunia schneideri is recorded for the second time in the Mediterranean and for the first time in Israel; Prionospio depauperata and Pseudonereis anomala are reported for the first time from the Sea of Marmara. Many first country records are also included, namely: Amathia verticillata (Montenegro), Ampithoe valida (Italy), Antithamnion amphigeneum (Greece), Clavelina oblonga (Tunisia and Slovenia), Dendostrea cf. folium (Syria), Epinephelus fasciatus (Tunisia), Ganonema farinosum (Montenegro), Macrorhynchia philippina (Tunisia), Marenzelleria neglecta (Romania), Paratapes textilis (Tunisia), and Botrylloides diegensis (Tunisia)., peer-reviewed

The filefishes of the family Monacanthidae are well known for the ability of many of the species to avoid detection by changing their color pattern to that of the immediate environment. Some enhance the deception by adding nodules, filaments, or flaps to the skin, and by their behavior. The Seagrass Filefish, Acreichthys tomentosus (Linnaeus), effectively uses all of these guises. The research site is the Marine Reserve Park of the Davao del Norte State College in the northern Davao Gulf, Mindanao, Philippines. Juveniles of the filefish are usually found remarkably well hidden in benthic algae of several species. Subadults and adults are most often seen in seagrass beds (in the reserve mainly tape grass, Enhalus acoroides), where they match the color of the amount of epiphytic growth on the seagrass. They feed mainly on the epiphytes of the seagrass. The seagrass and the filefish are an example of symbiosis (ecologists prefer mutualism). Unchecked, the accumulation of epiphytic growth will kill the blade of sea grass. The filefish not only changes its color pattern to match that of a new environment, but is able to instantly alter the texture of its skin, including producing filaments a few mm in length. A plan to videotape the change in the skin in an aquarium, followed by histological study of the filefish skin was cancelled when we learned that Allen et al. (2006) published the same remarkable sequence with the filefish Monacanthus tuckeri in the Caribbean Sea. Acreichthys tomentosus occurs throughout the Indo-Malayan region, ranging north to the Yaeyama Islands of Japan, south to Queensland, east to Tonga, and west to Sri Lanka; an East African record is a probable error. &nbsp

Bos, Arthur R., Hoeksema, Bert W. (2017): Mushroom corals (Fungiidae) in the Davao Gulf, Philippines, with records of associated fish and other cryptofauna. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 65: 198-206, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4502793, {"references":["Alamaru A, Brokovich E & Loya Y (2016) Four new species and three new records of benthic ctenophores (Family: Coeloplanidae) from the Red Sea. Marine Biodiversity, 46: 261-279.","Barneah O, Ben-Dov E, Benayahu Y, Brickner I & Kushmaro A (2012) Molecular diversity and specificity of acoel worms associated with corals in the Gulf of Eilat (Red Sea). Aquatic Biology, 14: 277-281.","Benzoni F, Arrigoni R, Stefani F, Reijnen BT, Montano S & Hoeksema BW (2012) Phylogenetic position and taxonomy of Cycloseris explanulata and C. wellsi (Scleractinia: Fungiidae): Lost mushroom corals find their way home. Contributions to Zoology, 81: 125-146.","Bohm T & Hoeksema BW (2017) Habitat selection of the coraldwelling spinyhead blenny, Acanthemblemaria spinosa, at Curacao, Dutch Caribbean. Marine Biodiversity, 47: 17-25.","Bos AR (2011) Clownfishes Amphiprion clarkii and A. sandaracinos (Pomacentridae) coexist in the sea anemone Stichodactyla mertensii. Coral Reefs, 30: 369.","Bos AR (2012) Fishes (Gobiidae and Labridae) associated with the mushroom coral Heliofungia actiniformis (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) in the Philippines. Coral Reefs, 31: 133.","Bos AR (2014) Upeneus nigromarginatus, a new species of goatfish (Perciformes: Mullidae) from the Philippines. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 62: 745-753.","Bos AR & Gumanao GS (2013) Seven new records of fishes (Teleostei: Perciformes) from coral reefs and pelagic habitats in southern Mindanao, the Philippines. Marine Biodiversity Records, 6: e95.","Bos AR & Hoeksema BW (2015) Cryptobenthic fishes and co-inhabiting shrimps associated with the mushroom coral Heliofungia actiniformis (Fungiidae) in the Davao Gulf, Philippines. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 98: 1479-1489.","Bos AR & Smits HM (2013) First record of the dottyback Manonichthys alleni (Teleostei: Perciformes: Pseudochromidae) from the Philippines. Marine Biodiversity Records, 6: e61.","Bos AR, Gumanao GS & Salac FN (2008) A newly discovered predator of the crown-of-thorns starfish. Coral Reefs, 27: 581.","Bos AR, Mueller B & Gumanao GS (2011) Feeding biology and symbiotic relationships of the corallimorpharian Paracorynactis hoplites (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 59: 245-250.","Bos AR, Gumanao GS, Mueller B & Saceda-Cardoza MM (2013) Management of crown-of-thorns sea star (Acanthaster planci L.) outbreaks: Removal success depends on reef topography and timing within the reproduction cycle. 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Biogeography, Time and Place: Distributions, Barriers and Islands. Springer, Dordrecht. Pp. 117-178.","Hoeksema BW (2008) Stony corals (Fungiidae). In: Hoeksema BW & van der Meij SET (eds.) Cryptic marine biota of the Raja Ampat island group. Naturalis, Leiden. Pp. 8-12.","Hoeksema BW (2009) Attached mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) in sediment-stressed reef conditions at Singapore, including a new species and a new record. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement 22: 81-90.","Hoeksema BW (2012a) Distribution patterns of mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) across the Spermonde Shelf, South Sulawesi. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 60: 183-212.","Hoeksema BW (2012b) Evolutionary trends in onshore-offshore distribution patterns of mushroom coral species (Scleractinia: Fungiidae). Contributions to Zoology, 81: 199-221.","Hoeksema BW (2012c) Mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) of Espiritu Santo (Vanuatu, West Pacific) with the description of a new species. 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A new bathymetric map of Lake Mweru was developed, displaying previously unknown morphological features and correcting the shape of the shoreline as presented in older maps. Water depth was measured during 11 transect cruises in early 1994. Two depressions were found in the north-eastern section of the lake, with maximum depths of 20m and 27m, respectively. The average depth of the lake was calculated to be 7.5m. The surface area (5 120km2) and volume (38.2 X 109m3) were found to be much greater than reported in previous studies. The long-term intra-annual fluctuation of the lake level was 1.7m, with seasonal highs in May and lows in January.Keywords: African Great Lakes, Congo, lake volume, Luapula, rainfall data, surface areaAfrican Journal of Aquatic Science 2006, 31(1): 145–150