The spreading of the non-native caprellid (Crustacea: Amphipoda) Caprella scaura Templeton, 1836 into southern Europe and northern Africa: A complicated taxonomic history

Abstract

Caprella scaura, originally described by Templeton (1836) from Mauritius and later reported as several "forms" or "varieties" from numerous areas of the world, was found for the first time in the Mediterranean in 1994. Since this report, the species has been found in several Mediterranean locations. To explore the current distribution of C. scaura in the Iberian Peninsula and adjacent areas, we surveyed marine fouling communities from 88 marinas along the whole Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, 3 from Italy, 1 from France, 1 from Malta and 1 from Greece between June 2011 and June 2012. The results of this survey report the first confirmed record of C. scaura in Corsica (France), Crete (Greece) and Morocco, and confirm an extensive distribution of C. scaura along the Spanish Mediterranean coast and the Strait of Gibraltar. The species was absent along the north Atlantic coast of Spain and the upper distribution limit for the eastern Atlantic coast is the locality of Cascais, on the south coast of Portugal. All populations studied belong to the same morphological form, which match the "varieties" C. scaura typica from Brazil and C. scaura scaura from Mauritius, suggesting that (1) these two forms correspond to the same "variety"; (2) this "variety" is the only one that is expanding its distribution range and (3) the remaining "varieties" of C. scaura complex could represent distinct species with a restricted distribution.