6533b830fe1ef96bd1298098

RESEARCH PRODUCT

A SMALL INVADER CONQUERS SICILY: AMPHISTEGINA LOBIFERA (FORAMINIFERA: AMPHISTEGINIDAE)

R. GuastellaN. MancinA. CarusoP. BalistreriA. M. ManninoA. Marchini

subject

Benthic foraminifera Lessepsian invasion Sicily Channel Central Mediterranean Sea

description

The highly invasive Amphistegina lobifera (Larsen, 1976), a benthic foraminiferal species native to the Red Sea, has colonized the Eastern Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and altered the native community structure. More recently, it has been reported from Malta and the Pelagian Islands within the Sicily channel. Here, we report new records from the southern coasts of Sicily, where we found it abundant both in the soft-bottom sediment and as epiphyt on algae. The occurrence of A. lobifera in Pantelleria and Favignana islands represents the Mediterranean westernmost record of this non-indigenous species.

http://hdl.handle.net/10447/350673