The First Substantiated Record of Blunthead Puffer Sphoeroides pachygaster (Müller and Troschel, 1848), From the Coast of Northern Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean)

Year 2021, Volume: 10 Issue: 1, 1 - 7, 31.03.2021

Hasan Deniz Akbora , Robin Snape Deniz Ayas , Burak Ali Çiçek

https://doi.org/10.33714/masteb.722547

Cited By: 3

Abstract

Blunthead puffer Sphoeroides pachygaster (Müller and Troschel, 1848) is a circumglobally distributed Tetraodontid found in temperate and tropical waters. It is believed to have colonized the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. There are relatively few records of this fish in the Mediterranean Sea. On March 2020, a mature female individual was caught incidentally by a commercial fisher in Northern Cyprus. The fish was 520 mm in total length and 1200 grams in total weight. Detailed morphometrics and meristics were reported. This study is the first substantiated record of S. pachygaster from Cyprus waters, and the specimen is the largest blunthead puffer reported with a 455 mm standard length and 520 mm total length.

Keywords

Tetraodontidae, Incidental catch, Morphometrics, Maximum size report, Levant Basin, A rare occurrence

Thanks

The authors thank Kemal Çolak, the owner and captain of the commercial vessel, for participating in this research and to SPOT’s bycatch project team, specifically Çiğdem Çağlar who reported the specimen. We also acknowledge the Northern Cyprus Ministry for Agriculture and Natural Resources for permitting us to undertake this work.

References

• Akbora, H. D., Kunter, İ., Erçeti̇n, T., Elagöz, A. M. & Çi̇çek, B. A. (2020). Determination of tetrodotoxin (TTX) levels in various tissues of the silver cheeked puffer fish (Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789)) in Northern Cyprus Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). Toxicon, 175: 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2019.12.002
• Akyol, O., Ünal, V., Ceyhan, T. & Bilecenoglu, M. (2005). First confirmed record of Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Fish Biology, 66(4): 1183-1186. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-1112.2005.00667.x
• Bane, V., Lehane, M., Dikshit, M., O’Riordan, A. & Furey, A. (2014). Tetrodotoxin: Chemistry, toxicity, source, distribution and detection. Toxins, 6(2): 693-755. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins6020693
• Bariche, M., Torres, M., Smith, C., Sayar, N., Azzurro, E., Baker, R. & Bernardi, G. (2015). Red Sea fishes in the Mediterranean Sea: A preliminary investigation of a biological invasion using DNA barcoding. Journal of Biogeography, 42(12): 2363-2373. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/jbi.12595
• Brainerd, E. L. (1994). Pufferfish inflation: functional morphology of postcranial structures in Diodon holocanthus (Tetraodontiformes). Journal of Morphology, 220(3): 243-261. https://doi.org/10.1002/ jmor.1052200304
• Carbonara, P., Kolitari, J., Đurović, M., Gaudio, P., Ikica, Z., Kroqi, G., Milone, N. & Spedicato, M. T. (2017). The presence of Tetraodontidae species in the Central Mediterranean: An update from the southern Adriatic Sea. Acta Adriatica: International Journal of Marine Sciences, 58: 325–338. https://doi.org/10.32582/ aa.58.2.11
• Cherif, M., Amor, M. M. B., Bdioui, M., Salem, S. B., Missaoui, H. & Capapé, C. (2010). Additional records of the blunthead puffer, Sphoeroides pachygaster (Osteichthyes: Tetraodontidae) off the Tunisian coast (Central Mediterranean). Annales: Series Historia Naturalis, 20: 33-36.
• Corsini, M., Margies, P., Kondilatos, G. & Economidis, P. S. (2005). Lessepsian migration of fishes to the Aegean Sea: First record of Tylerius spinosissimus (Tetraodontidae) from the Mediterranean, and six more fish records from Rhodes. Cybium, 29(4): 347-354.
• Eryılmaz, L., Özuluğ, M. & Meriç, N. (2003). The smooth pufferfish, Sphoeroides pachygaster (müller & troschel, 1848) (Teleostei: Tetraodontidae), new to the northern Aegean Sea. Zoology in the Middle East, 28: 125-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/09397140.2003.10637962
• Giordano, D., Profeta, A., Pirrera, L., Soraci, F., Perdichizzi, F., Greco, S., Perdichizzi, A. & Rinelli, P. (2012). On the occurrence of the blunthead puffer, Sphoeroides pachygaster (Osteichthyes: Tetraodontidae), in the Strait of Messina (Central Mediterranean). Journal of Marine Biology, 2012: 462407. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/ 462407
• Golani, D. (1996). The marine ichthyofauna of the eastern Levant - History, inventory, and characterization. Israel Journal of Zoology, 42(1): 15-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/00212210.1996.10688830
• Golani, D. (1987). The Red Sea pufferfish, Torquigener flavimaculosus Hardy & Randall 1983, a new Suez Canal migrant to the Eastern Mediterranean (Pisces: Tetraodontidae). Senckenbergiana Maritima: wissenschaftliche Mitteilungen der Senckenbergischen naturforschenden Gesellschaft, 5-6: 339-343.
• Hemida, F., Ben Amor, M. M. & Capapé, C. (2009). First confirmed record of the blunthead puffer, Sphoeroides pachygaster (Osteichthyes: Tetraodontidae) off the Algerian coast (south-western Mediterranean). Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences, 4(2): 188-192.
• Jeong, D. Y., Kim, D. S., Lee, M. J., Kim, S. R., Byun, D. S., Kim, H. D. & Park, Y. H. (1994). Toxicity of several puffers collected at a fish market of Pusan, Korea. Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 27(6): 682-689.
• Katsanevakis, S., Tsiamis, K., Ioannou, G., Michailidis, N. & Zenetos, A. (2009). Inventory of alien marine species of Cyprus (2009). Mediterranean Marine Science, 10(2): 109-133. https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.113
• KKTC Mahkemeleri. (2020). Tüzükler. Retrieved on May 17, 2020 from https://www.mahkemeler.net/cgi-bin/showtuzuk2.aspx Lipej, L., Mavrič, B. & Paliska, D. (2013). New northernmost record of the blunthead pufferfish, Sphoeroides pachygaster (Osteichthyes: Tetraodontidae) in the Mediterranean Sea. Annales: Series Historia Naturalis, 23: 103-114.
• Matsuura, K. & Tyler, J. C. (1997). Tetraodontiform fishes, mostly from deep waters, of New Caledonia. Résultats des campagnes MUSORSTOM, 17: 173-208.
• Nagashima, Y., Ohta, A., Yin, X., Ishizaki, S., Matsumoto, T., Doi, H. & Ishibashi, T. (2018). Difference in uptake of tetrodotoxin and saxitoxins into liver tissue slices among pufferfish, boxfish and porcupinefish. Marine Drugs, 16(1): 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/md16010017
• Oliver, P. (1981). Sobre la aparicio´n de algunos peces raros en las Islas Baleares. Boletín Instituto Español de Oceanografía, 6: 59-64.
• Psomadakis, P. N., Ceddia, P. & Vacchi, M. (2008). Additional record of Sphoeroides pachygaster (Pisces: Tetraodontidae) in the Tyrrhenian Sea and notes on the distribution of the species in the Mediterranean. Marine Biodiversity Records, 1: e18. https://doi.org/10.1017/ s1755267206001862
• Ragonese, S., Jereb, P. & Morara, U. (1997). Morphometric relationships of Sphoeroides pachygaster (Pisces - Tetraodontidae) of the strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 38(4): 283-290.
• Rahman, W. A., Galiya, M. & Ali, A. K. (2014). First record of the blunthead puffer Sphoeroides pachygaster (Osteichthyes: Tetraodontidae) in Syrian marine waters (eastern Mediterranean). Marine Biodiversity Records, 7: e31. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755267214000244
• Reina-Hervás, J. A., García Raso, J. E. & Manjón-Cabeza, M. E. (2004). First record of Sphoeroides spengleri (Osteichthyes: Tetraodontidae) in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 84(5): 1089-1090. https://doi.org/ 10.1017/S0025315404010495h
• Rousou, M., Ganias, K., Kletou, D., Loucaides, A. & Tsinganis, M. (2014). Maturity of the pufferfish Lagocephalus sceleratus in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. Sexuality and Early Development in Aquatic Organisms, 1: 35-44. https://doi.org/10.3354/sedao00005
• Sampaio, C. L. S., Lopes, P. R. D. & Olavo, G. (2001). Registros de Lagocephalus lagocephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) e Sphoeroides pachygaster (Müller & Troschel, 1848) (Actinopterygii: Tetraodontidae) para o litoral da Bahia, nordeste do Brasil. Interciencia, 26: 157-160.
• Shao, K., Liu, M., Jing, L., Matsuura, K., Hardy, G. & Leis, J. L. (2014). Sphoeroides pachygaster. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e. T190193A1943625. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS. T190193A1943625.en Downloaded on 09 April 2020.
• Tani, T. (1945). Nihonsan fugu no chudokugakutekikenkyu (Toxicological studies on Japanese puffer). Tokyo, Teikokutosho, 1945: 15-27.
• Vacchi, M., Bussotti, S., Miglietta, A. M. & Guidetti, P. (2007). Presence of the Guinean puffer Sphoeroides marmoratus (Lowe, 1838) in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Fish Biology, 71(4): 1215-1219. https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1095-8649.2007.01578.x
• Vella, A., Vella, N., Karakulak, F. S. & Oray, I. (2017). DNA barcoding of Tetraodontidae species from the Mediterranean Sea: Filling knowledge gaps for improved taxonomic accuracy. Genetics of Aquatic Organisms, 1: 61-69. https://doi.org/10.4194/2459-1831-v1_2_05