Range extension of Kyphosus vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825) in the northeastern Mediterranean, İskenderun Bay, Turkey

This paper reports the range extension of Kyphosus vaigiensis in the northeastern (NE) Mediterranean. On 18 November, 2018, a single specimen of K. vaigiensis was caught in İskenderun Bay (36°45.6' N, 35°40.8' E) by a recreational fisherman and reported through a social media application. The specimen was identified using morphological and molecular methods. Its occurrence and distribution in the NE Mediterranean were investigated based on interviews with fishers.Sea chubs (Kyphosidae, Kyphosus) currently consist of 12 species (Knudsen and Clements, 2013, 2016, 2019) occurring in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans (Sakai and Nakabo, 1995, 2014; Knudsen and Clements, 2013). They generally inhabit shallow waters of less than 10 m deep in various habitats like reefs, seagrass meadows, and sandy bottoms (Nelson, 2006). Moreover, juveniles are commonly found in nearby floating algae or below flotsam (Knudsen and Clements, 2013). Sea chubs are strictly herbivorous, mainly feeding on macroalgae (Knudsen and Clements, 2013). Although they are considered popular game fish, they have low economic importance because of their characteristic bad odor and taste (Bae et al., 2008).