2026/03/14 by A. Gil-Fernández, Pere Abelló, Isabel Muñoz +1 · 1 voice
Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Marine Ecology and Invasive Species #Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology #Crustacean biology and ecology
paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/fishes11030168
openalex publication_date 2026/03/14 · openalex created_date 2026/03/17 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Two African crab species are recorded for the first time for the Mediterranean Sea. On the one hand, eight individuals of the mud crab Panopeus africanus were found in the port of Gandía, València, Spain. On the other hand, one zoea larva of the pebble crab Ilia spinosa was identified in plankton samples collected in coastal waters adjacent to L’Albufera, València, Spain. These two Mediterranean findings represent the second records for these two African crab species outside their native Atlantic distributions. Identifications were confirmed using DNA barcoding. Comparisons with other African decapod species introduced into the Mediterranean are made to assess whether they may have followed similar transport patterns, which include two main pathways, natural larval expansion from nearby Atlantic populations or accidental transport mediated by ships’ ballast water or hull fouling.