The first record of the Sargocentron genus from the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean) - who will unravel the current conundrum?

Abstract

The squirrelfish genus, Sargocentron, is reported for the first time from Maltese coastal waters within the Central Mediterranean. The record is based on two individuals caught at two different coastal locations in the Maltese Islands within the space of a few days of each other, through the same fishing technique (trammel nets). In view of the impossibility to collect meristic, morphometric and molecular data from the recorded individuals, and due to the close similarity between a number of Sargocentron congeners, the exact taxonomic identity of the captured individuals could not be conclusively confirmed, although the livery on the two caught individuals resulted to be consistent with that of S. rubrum and S. hastatum.