Progress of the dispersal of the alien goatfish Parupeneus forsskali (Fourmanoir & Guézé, 1976) in the Mediterranean, with preliminary information on its diet composition in Cyprus.

Parupeneus forsskali has been the latest Indo-Pacific goatfish species to expand its range into the Mediterranean. It is the least studied alien mullid in the Eastern Mediterranean, and specific information on its diet is generally lacking in the literature. The objectives of this paper are (1) to comprehensively document the progress of its invasion in the Mediterranean through a systematic literature review to retrieve all published records of the species in the region, and (2) to present preliminary quantitative information on its diet in its non-native range. Parupeneus forsskali, first recorded in Cyprus in 2014, has established self-sustaining, reproducing, commercially important populations in the nearshore waters of Cyprus at least since 2017. Significant P. forsskali catches by artisanal fisheries in Cyprus began in late 2017 and have been increasing since. Its particularly successful establishment and spread across Cyprus occurred after a time lag of several years since its introduction in the Mediterranean, possibly during the 1990s or earlier. As the westernmost records of the species along both the southern and the northern Mediterranean coastlines were made in recent years, it is assumed that P. forsskali is currently expanding its range in the Mediterranean. The prey items identified in the stomach contents analysis, ranked by their frequency of occurrence, belonged to the following taxonomic groups: Crustacea (67%), Mollusca (37%), Polychaeta (19%), Foraminifera (12%), Actinopterygii (5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]