Occurrence of the Smallscale Codlet, Bregmaceros nectabanus in the Mediterranean Sea, previously misidentified as B. Atlanticus in this region

Abstract

Background: We report the occurrence of Bregmaceros nectabanus as the only species of this genus occurring in the Mediterranean Sea. Results: All previously published records of B. atlanticus from the Mediterranean are based on misidentifications. Among the features that distinguish B. nectabanus are its nearly unpigmented abdomen, presence of a thin dorsolateral longitudinal stripe below the second dorsal fin, and a distally fimbriate opercular spine. Conclusions: Since this species is known also from the Red Sea it is evidently a Lessepsian migrant that reached the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal.