New records of amphipod crustaceans along the Israeli Mediterranean coast, including a rare Mediterranean endemic species, Maera schieckei Karaman & Ruffo, 1971

Abstract

A survey has been carried out at four Israeli rocky sites to evaluate the diversity of the amphipod fauna on various hard substrates, still scarcely monitored, as potential pabulum for amphipod crustacean species. A survey of shallow rocky reefs along the Mediterranean coast of Israel recovered 28 species and integrated the Amphipoda checklist for the country ofIsrael with 12 newly-recorded species. Such renewed national list includes Maera schieckei Karaman & Ruffo, 1971, a rare species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, recorded here for the first time from the southern Levant Basin. The species, described from specimens collected in the Tyrrhenian Sea in 1970, has been only recorded eight times within the whole Mediterranean Sea. A revision of the bibliography on the distribution and ecology of M. schieckei showed that, although mentioned only for the western Mediterranean basin by some authors, it is listed in the checklist of amphipods of the Aegean Sea and neighbouring seas and has been found in the eastern Mediterranean basin since 1978. Maera schieckei was rarely found in the Mediterranean, one of the most studied marine biogeographic region as concerns the amphipod fauna; and the species seems to prefer bays or gulf areas. The role of updating and monitoring faunal composition should be re-evaluated.

Inventory and Geographical Affinities of Algerian Cumacea, Isopoda, Mysida, Lophogastrida and Tanaidacea (Crustacea Peracarida)

“…Ferrario et al [119], Lo Brutto and Iaciofano [146] had underlined note the need to establish inventories of marine invertebrates and their survey as a prerequisite for biodiversity knowledge and ecological studies. The inventory of peracarida is a mandatory passage for better knowledge and management of Algerian marine biodiversity.…”

“…Shallow habitats and biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea ares impacted by a range of damaging factors such as habitat loss and degradation, climate change, pollution and the invasion of NIS [1,2,146]. A periodic evaluation of the marine biodiversity of Peracarida in certain Algerian target areas is recommended.…”