First Record of the African Surgeonfish Acanthurus monroviae (Osteichthyes: Acanthuridae) In the Hellenic Waters

Abstract

Acanthurus monroviae inhabits the African coasts from Morocco to South Africa and the Canaries. It is distributed in various tropical and subtropical seas all around the world. The species feeds mainly on benthic algae and forms large schools that overwhelm other herbivorous fish species. It has been recorded at the Brazilian coasts and at the Western Mediterranean Sea. One individual was reported at the south-eastern basin of the Mediterranean on the coasts of Israel. The present study describes the first record of the species in the Hellenic waters that was captured by spear fishing at Salamina Island by one of the authors.