ANNALES · Ser. hist. nat. · 30 · 2020 · 2 157 received: 2020-06-10 DOI 10.19233/ASHN.2020.18 OCCURRENCE OF A LARGE BIGEYE THRESHER SHARK, ALOPIAS SUPERCILIOSUS (LAMNIFORMES: ALOPIIDAE), IN THE NORTHEASTERN LEVANTINE SEA (ISKENDERUN BAY, EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA, TURKEY) Deniz ERGÜDEN, Mahmut İĞDE & Cemal TURAN İskenderun Technical University, Marine Sciences and Technology Faculty, Marine Sciences Department, İskenderun, Hatay, Turkey e-mail: deniz.erguden@iste.edu.tr Deniz AYAS Faculty of Fisheries, Mersin University Yenişehir Campus, 33160, Mersin, Turkey Hakan KABASAKAL Ichthyological Research Society, Tantavi mahallesi, Menteşoğlu caddesi, İdil apartmanı, No: 30, D: 4, 34764 Ümraniye, İstanbul, Turkey e-mail: kabasakal.hakan@gmail.com ABSTRACT On 9 April 2019, a single female specimen of Alopias superciliosus Lowe, 1841 was incidentally captured by a commercial purse seiner at an approximate depth of 20 m, off the coast of Çevlik, İskenderun Bay, Turkey. The present specimen is the largest to be captured in northeastern Levantine Sea to date, and one of the largest specimens, approaching the alleged 500 cm maximum TL, caught in the entire Mediterranean Sea. While the congeneric thresher shark, A. vulpinus, is now listed as protected species in the Turkish Marine Fisheries Act, a similar conservation status for the protection of A. superciliosus is urgently needed. Key words: thresher shark, Alopiidae, coast of Cevlik, Levantine Sea, conservation, bycatch PRESENZA DI SQUALO VOLPE OCCHIONE, ALOPIAS SUPERCILIOSUS (LAMNIFORMES: ALOPIIDAE), NEL MAR LEVANTINO NORD-ORIENTALE (BAIA DI ISKENDERUN, MEDITERRANEO ORIENTALE, TURCHIA) SINTESI Il 9 aprile 2019, una femmina di squalo volpe occhione, Alopias superciliosus Lowe, 1841, è stata acciden- talmente catturata da una rete a circuizione commerciale, a una profondità di circa 20 m, al largo della costa di Çevlik, nella baia di İskenderun, in Turchia. L’esemplare è il più grande ad essere stato catturato nel Mar Levantino nord-orientale fino ad oggi. Si tratta inoltre di uno degli esemplari più grandi, avvicinandosi al presunto limite massimo di 500 cm, catturato in tutto il mare Mediterraneo. Mentre lo squalo volpe, A. vulpinus, è ora considerato specie protetta dalla legge turca sulla pesca marittima, è urgentemente necessario uno stato di conservazione simile per la protezione di A. superciliosus. Parole chiave: squalo volpe occhione, Alopiidae, costa di Cevlik, Mar Levantino, conservazione, catture accidentali ANNALES · Ser. hist. nat. · 30 · 2020 · 2 158 Deniz ERGÜDEN et al.: OCCURRENCE OF A LARGE BIGEYE THRESHER SHARK, ALOPIAS SUPERCILIOSUS (LAMNIFORMES: ALOPIIDAE), IN THE ..., 157–164 INTRODUCTION The bigeye thresher shark, Alopias superciliosus Lowe, 1841, is one of the three species in the family Alopiidae, which is distributed worldwide in all tem- perate and tropical oceans (Ebert et al., 2013). Despite its occurrence in the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones of open oceans, A. superciliosus is a common inhabitant of coastal waters over continental shelves, with seldom occurrence in shallow inshore waters (Froese & Pauly, 2020). The first record of the bigeye thresher shark in the Mediterranean was reported from Italian waters, during observations in the fishing centres of Mazara del Vallo (Trapani, Sicily) (Cigala-Fulgosi, 1983), and was followed by a few dozen further records from elsewhere within the spcies’ distribution range, which extends from the west to the east of the Mediterranean, including the Marmara Sea, which were summarised by Lanteri et al. (2017). A. superciliosus was recorded for the first time in Turkish waters by Mater (2005) in the Bay of Gökova. This article reports on the capture of a large female of A. superciliosus in the Bay of İskenderun, north- eastern Levantine waters, and presents morphometric measurements of the examined specimen. MATERIAL AND METHODS On 9 April 2019, a single female specimen of A. superciliosus was incidentally captured by a commer- cial purse seiner at an approximate depth of 20 m, off the coast of Çevlik, İskenderun Bay, Turkey (location: 35° 57’ 14” N, 35° 54’ 30’’ E; Fig. 1). The specimen was photographed (Figs. 2, 3 and 4), and morpho- metric measurements (in cm) and weight (in grams) were recorded on site. Morphometric measurements were based on Compagno (2001), and measured to the nearest milimetre. Identification of the examined species follows Compagno (2001) and Serena (2005), and taxonomic nomenclature follows Froese & Pauly (2020). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The total length (TL) of the examined bigeye thresher shark (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) was 472 cm, and its weight 400 kg. The morphometric measurements of the examined female are provided in Table 1, together with morphometric data extracted from several articles on A. superciliosus. Based on the fol- lowing descriptive features that coincided with those proposed in Compagno (2001) and Serena (2005), the Fig. 1: Map depicting the approximate site of capture (⁎) of the examined A. superciliosus. Sl. 1: Zemljevid obravnavanega območja s približno oznako lokalitete (⁎), kjer je bil analiziran primerek vrste A. superciliosus ujet. ANNALES · Ser. hist. nat. · 30 · 2020 · 2 159 Deniz ERGÜDEN et al.: OCCURRENCE OF A LARGE BIGEYE THRESHER SHARK, ALOPIAS SUPERCILIOSUS (LAMNIFORMES: ALOPIIDAE), IN THE ..., 157–164 Tab. 1: Comparison of selected morphometric measurements of the A. superciliosus specimen examined in this study with those of other reported specimens from the Mediterranean Sea. Values provided in parentheses are the percentages that selected morphometric measurement take up of TL. *Since Lanteri et al. (2017) base their record on the collected head and pectoral fins of the examined specimen, the TL value is not provided. W Med: western Mediterranean; NW Med: northwe- stern Mediterranean; SE Med: southeastern Mediterranean; NE Med: northeastern Mediterranean; N/A: not available. Tab. 1: Primerjava izbranih morfometričnih meritev na pregledanem primerku vrste A. superciliosus v tej raziskavi s podatki, pridobljenimi iz drugih raziskav v Sredozemskem morju. Vrednosti v oklepaju so deleži izbranih morfometričnih meritev glede na celotno dolžino telesa. *Ker so Lanteri in sod. (2017) zbrali le glavo in prsne plavuti pregledanega primerka, dolžina telesa ni navedena. W Med: zahodno Sredozemlje; NW Med: severozahodno Sredozemlje; SE Med: jugovzhodno Sredozemlje; NE Med: severovzhodno Sredozemlje; N/A: ni podatka. This study Kabasakal et. al. (2011) Kabasakal (2017) Ayas et al. (2020) Corsini-Foka & Sioulas (2009) Lanteri et al. (2017)* Farrag (2017) Locality Iskenderun Bay (SE Med. Turkey) Fethiye Coast (Aegean Sea, Turkey) Antalya Bay (W Med. Turkey) Mersin Bay (NE Med. Turkey) Dodecanese waters (Aegean Sea, Greece) Ligurian Sea (NW Med. Italy) Egyptian coast of Med. Sea, Egypt Sex Female Female Female Female Male Female N/A Measurements Value (cm) (% of TL) Value (cm) (% of TL) Value (cm) (% of TL) Value (cm) (% of TL) Value (cm) (% of TL) Value (cm) Value (cm) (% of TL) Total Length (TL) 472.0 450.0 342.4 240.0 310.0 N/A 180.0 First dorsal fin length 40.0 41.0 (9.1%) - 17.9 (7.4%) 27.0 (8.7%) - - First dorsal fin base length 32.0 (6.8%) 32.0 (7.1%) - 13.6 (5.6%) 21.0 (6.8%) - - Pectoral fin length 83.0 (17.5%) 82.0 (18.2%) - 51.5 (21.4%) 62 (20.0%) 25.4 35 (19.4%) Pectoral fin base length 40.0 (8.5%) 30.0 (6.7%) - 20.1 (8.4%) 21 (6.8%) - Ventral fin length 37.0 (7.8%) 39.0 (8.7%) - 20.6 (8.6%) 26.0 (8.4%) - - Ventral fin base length 30.0 (6.4%) 30.0 (6.7%) - 15.4 (6.4%) 21.0 (6.8%) - - Distance between dorsal fin origin and ventral fin origin - - - 17.8 (7.4%) 23.0 (7.4%) - - Distance between pectoral fin origin and ventral fin origin 204 (43.2%) - - 68.9 (28.7%) 77.0 (24.8%) - - Predorsal length - 128.0 (28.4%) - 87.7 (36.5%) 94.0 (30.3%) - 57.0 (31.6%) Preventral length - 165.0 (36.7%) - 105.3 (43.9%) 118.0 (38.1%) - 70.0 (38.9%) Prepectoral length - 55.0 (12.2%) 38.6 (11.2%) 43.7 (18.2%) 45.0 (14.5%) - 29.0 (16.1%) Preanal length - - - - - 41.7 89.0 (49.4%) Precaudal fin length - - 240.5 (70.2%) - - - - Prebranchial length - - 34.6 (10.1%) - - - - Preorbital length - - 14.7 (4.2%) - - 31.6 9.0 (5.0%) Preoral length - - 15.1 (4.4%) - - 11.0 - Interorbital space - - 9.4 (2.7%) - - 12.3 7.0 (3.9%) Eye length - - 6.9 (2.01%) - - 7.4 4.5 (0.95%) Eye height - - 5.1 (1.4%) - - 4.7 - Mouth width 20.0 (4.2%) - - - - 7.4 - Pectoral fin anterior margin - - 46.4 (13.5%) - - 10.4 - Tail length 240.0 (50.5%) 217.0 (48.2%) - 103.8 (43.3%) 143.0 (46.1%) 54.4 84.0 (17.8%) ANNALES · Ser. hist. nat. · 30 · 2020 · 2 160 Deniz ERGÜDEN et al.: OCCURRENCE OF A LARGE BIGEYE THRESHER SHARK, ALOPIAS SUPERCILIOSUS (LAMNIFORMES: ALOPIIDAE), IN THE ..., 157–164 examined specimen was identified as A. superciliosus: cylindrical body, massive before the first dorsal fin; snout moderately long and bulbous; head with deep grooves extending along either sides from behind the eyes to the areas above the gill openings; eyes large and reaching the dorsal surface of head; interorbital space nearly flat; first dorsal midbase closer to the pelvic fin base than to the pectoral fin bases; pectoral fins falcate with broad apices; upper surface of the body brownish to dark grey, growing lighter in colour ventrally. The story of A. superciliosus in the Mediterranean Sea dates to the early 1980s, when Cigala-Fulgosi (1983) recorded the species in the region for the first time. However, the discovery of taxidermied speci- mens caught in Dodecanese waters (southeastern Aegean Sea) in the 1950s suggests that A. supercilio- sus had been present in the Mediterranean Sea some thirty years earlier than the first published report on its occurrence was made (Corsini-Foka & Sioulas, 2009). Following Cigala-Fulgosi’s (1983) report, sev- eral captures of bigeye thresher shark were reported from different parts of the Mediterranean Sea. These include Pescara, Italy (Cugini & De Maddalena, 2003), waters around Toulon (Capape, 1977), the Catalan littoral (Barrull et al., 1999), eastern Sardinia (Vacchi & Serena, 2000), and the Ligurian Sea (Lanteri et al., 2017). In the eastern Mediterranean region, sporadic records of A. superciliosus were reported from the Turkish Mediterranean and Aegean coasts (Mater, 2005; Kabasakal et al., 2011; Gökoğlu et al., 2017; Kabasakal, 2017; Ayas et al., 2020), as well as from the Sea of Marmara (Kabasakal & Karhan, 2008), Egyptian waters (Farrag, 2017), Israel, off the Ashod coast (Golani, 1996), Dodecanese waters, the SE Aegean Sea (Corsini-Foka & Sioulas, 2008), and from Cyprus waters (Kleitou et al., 2017). Lanteri et al. (2017) compiled a full list of 40 Mediterranean records of A. superciliosus with some data on the captured specimens and relevant references. With the addition of the specimens reported by Kabasakal (2017), Ayas et al. (2020), and the one recorded in the present study, the total number of records of A. superciliosus from the Mediterranean and Turkey increased to 43 and 15, respectively, with the latter number representing almost 35 % of all records re- ported in the Mediterranean to date. Although recent data suggest that the distribution of A. superciliosus in the Mediterranean is extending from the western part of the region to the Levantine Sea in the east and the Marmara Sea in the northernmost part, this shark species is still considered rare in the Mediterranean (Serena, 2005; Lanteri et al., 2017), and the small sample of 43 recorded specimens from the 1950s to date seems to validate this view. An overview of A. superciliosus records from Turkish waters is presented in Table 2. While the maximum total length reported for A. superciliosus is 484 cm (Ebert & Stehmann, 2013), Lanteri et al. (2017) provide records on specimens that reach 500 cm. The specimen presented in our article is the largest ever caught in the northeastern Levantine Sea to date. It is also one of the largest specimens, approaching the alleged 500 cm maximum TL, that have ever been caught in the entire Mediterranean Sea. According to Ebert and Stehmann (2013), females mature between 332 and 356 cm TL; thus, the present specimen is considered a mature female. Fig. 2: Female A. superciliosus (472 cm in TL), captu- red off the coast of Çevlik, northeastern Levantine Sea (Photo: D. Ergüden archive). Sl. 2: Samica vrste A. superciliosus (472 cm v dolžino telesa), ujeta ob obali Çevlika, severovzhodno Levant- sko morje (Foto: D. Ergüden arhiv). ANNALES · Ser. hist. nat. · 30 · 2020 · 2 161 Deniz ERGÜDEN et al.: OCCURRENCE OF A LARGE BIGEYE THRESHER SHARK, ALOPIAS SUPERCILIOSUS (LAMNIFORMES: ALOPIIDAE), IN THE ..., 157–164 Fig. 3: Front (A) and lateral (B) views of the examined A. superciliosus (Photo: D. Ergüden archive). Sl. 3: Pogled od spredaj (A) in od strani (B) pregledanega primerka vrste A. superciliosus (Foto: D. Ergüden arhiv). Tab. 2: An overview of the records of A. superciliosus from Turkish waters. GN: gill net; SN: shrimp net; PS: purse seine; TN: trammel net; SN: stationary net; BT: bottom trawl; LL: longline; PSLL: pelagic swordfish longline. Tab. 2: Pregled zapisov o pojavljanju vrste A. superciliosus v turških vodah. GN: zabodna mreža; SN: mreža za kozice; PS: zaporna plavarica; TN: trislojna mreža; SN: stoječa mreža; BT: pridnena povlečna mreža; LL: parangal; PSLL: parangal za mečarice. No Authors Date Depth (m) Locality Region Gear Sex Length (cm, TL) Weight (Kg) 1 Clo et al. (2008) April 2005 - Marmaris SE Aegean Sea GN - 350 160 2 Mater (2005) 23 May 2005 12 Gökova SE Aegean Sea SN - 350 150 3 Kabasakal & Karhan (2008) 25 February 2007 - Silivri Marmara Sea PS - 450 - 4 Kabasakal et al. (2011) 28 February 2011 110 Fethiye SE Aegean Sea TN ♀ 430 300 5 Kabasakal et al. (2011) 2 July 2011 - Silivri Marmara Sea PS ♀ 250 65 6 Lanteri et al. (2017) 25 February 2013 - - Marmara Sea - - 370 250 7 Lanteri et al. (2017) 13 March 2013 - Yeşilköy Marmara Sea - - 200 110 8 Lanteri et al. (2017) 15 July 2013 - Yediburunlar SE Aegean Sea - - 500 95 9 Lanteri et al. (2017) 15 April 2015 - Antalya Mediterranean Sea - - - - 10 Kabasakal et al. (2011) 21 May 2016 100 Sivrice NE Aegean Sea SN ♀ 400 - 11-12 Gökoglu et al. (2017) March, April and July 2015 600-700 Antalya Mediterranean Sea BT, LL ♀,♂ 180-299 15.5-65 13 Kabasakal (2017) 22 December 2016 - Antalya Bay Mediterranean Sea PSLL ♀ 342.4 - 14 Ayas et al. (2020) 02 January 2020 25 Taşucu Mediterranean Sea TN ♀ 240 48 15 Present specimen 09 April 2019 20 Keldağ, Çevlik Coast Mediterranean Sea PS ♀ 472 400 ANNALES · Ser. hist. nat. · 30 · 2020 · 2 162 Deniz ERGÜDEN et al.: OCCURRENCE OF A LARGE BIGEYE THRESHER SHARK, ALOPIAS SUPERCILIOSUS (LAMNIFORMES: ALOPIIDAE), IN THE ..., 157–164 In the Mediterranean Sea, the bigeye thresher shark is considered occasional bycatch affected by interac- tion with pelagic fishing gear, as well as bottom trawls, longlines and entangling nets (Serena, 2005; Bariche, 2012). The previous IUCN category – “data deficient” - for A. superciliosus was recently changed to “endan- gered” for the Mediterranean Sea, and “vulnerable” worldwide (Otero et al., 2019). A. superciliosus is a typical k-selected species, with the maximum litter size ranging from 2 to 4 embryos (Bariche, 2012). While the congeneric thresher shark, A. vulpinus is now listed as a protected species in the Turkish Marine Fisheries Act (Öztürk, 2018), a similar conservation status for the protection of A. superciliosus is urgently needed. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Authors thank the fishermen who kindly permitted the taking of photographs and recording of the meas- urements of the specimen described in the article. Fig. 4: Dentition on the upper and lower jaws of the examined A. superciliosus (Photo: D. Ergüden archive). Sl. 4: Zobovje na spodnji in spodnji čeljustnici pri pregledanem primerku vrste A. superciliosus (Foto: D. Ergüden arhiv). ANNALES · Ser. hist. nat. · 30 · 2020 · 2 163 Deniz ERGÜDEN et al.: OCCURRENCE OF A LARGE BIGEYE THRESHER SHARK, ALOPIAS SUPERCILIOSUS (LAMNIFORMES: ALOPIIDAE), IN THE ..., 157–164 POJAVLJANJE VELIKE VELIKOOKE MORSKE LISICE, ALOPIAS SUPERCILIOSUS (LAMNIFORMES: ALOPIIDAE), V SEVEROVZHODNEM LEVANTSKEM MORJU (ZALIV ISKENDERUN, VZHODNI MEDITERAN, TURČIJA) Deniz ERGÜDEN, Mahmut İĞDE & Cemal TURAN İskenderun Technical University, Marine Sciences and Technology Faculty, Marine Sciences Department, İskenderun, Hatay, Turkey e-mail: deniz.erguden@iste.edu.tr Deniz AYAS Faculty of Fisheries, Mersin University Yenişehir Campus, 33160, Mersin, Turkey Hakan KABASAKAL Ichthyological Research Society, Tantavi mahallesi, Menteşoğlu caddesi, İdil apartmanı, No: 30, D: 4, 34764 Ümraniye, İstanbul, Turkey e-mail: kabasakal.hakan@gmail.com POVZETEK Devetega aprila 2019 so ujeli samico velikooke morske lisice Alopias superciliosus Lowe, 1841 v zaporno pla- varico, na globini približno 20 m ob Çevliku v zalivu İskenderun Bay, v Turčiji. 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