Sibel Alagöz Ergüden

THE OCCURRENCE OF ROYAL FLAGFIN Aulopus filamentosus (Bloch, 1792) IN MERSIN BAY (NORTH-EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN) TURKEY

Abstract Three specimens (1 male and 2 females) of royal flagfin Aulopus filamentosus (Bloch, 1792) were caught at a depth of 184 m off Erdemli, Mersin Bay (northeastern Mediterranean, Turkey) in June 2015. The present paper reports the first occurrence and is the confirmation of royal flagfin A. filamentosus from the northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Turkey. Since it has been recorded only once in the last sixty years, this species could be considered as exceptionally rare in the easternmost area of the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey.

Confirmation of the Record of the Serpent Eel, Ophisurus serpens (Family: Ophichthidae) from Mersin Bay (NE Mediterranean, Turkey)

A specimen of the serpent eel, Ophisurus serpens, with a total length of 190.2 cm was caught off the coast of Mersin (Incekum), Turkey on November 2014 during trawling. This manuscript presents the first digitized specimen of O. serpens from the Mersin Bay (northeastern Mediterranean), and hence, confirms the presence of the species in the northeastern Mediterranean despite a suspicious previous report, possibly mistaken with Echelus myrus, of the species from Yumurtalık Bay. Remarks on the morphology and geographical distribution of the species in the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey are given.