First record of Selene dorsalis (Osteichthyes : Carangidae) in the Mediterranean Sea, from coastal waters off the Maltese Islands

Abstract

The first Mediterranean record of the African moonfish, Selene dorsalis, is reported, with the capture of a single female specimen by means of a trammel net from coastal waters off the Maltese Islands. The species is a non-indigenous one for the Mediterranean, being native of tropical and subtropical waters of the east Atlantic. The Mediterranean record of S. dorsalis could be indicative of a northward range expansion of the species, spurred in part by the recent warming trend observed in the Mediterranean Sea.