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Marine Biodiversity Records, page 1 of 4. # Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2014
doi:10.1017/S1755267214000190; Vol. 7; e22; 2014 Published online

First record of Aplysia dactylomela
(Opisthobranchia: Aplysiidae)
from the Egadi Islands (western Sicily)

anna maria mannino1, paolo balistreri1 and mehmet baki yokes‚2

1Department of Sciences and Biological Chemical and Pharmaceutical Technologies, University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 38,
90123 Palermo, Italy, 2Halic University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, 34381 Istanbul, Turkey

The alien mollusc Aplysia dactylomela is recorded for the first time from the Egadi Islands marine protected area (western
Sicily). This species has been widely reported in the Mediterranean and has established populations in Sicily. The presence of a
few specimens let us suppose that its occurrence in this area is a recent event and that soon new populations will be sighted in
the whole Egadi Islands and on the western and southern coasts of Sicily.

Keywords: Mediterranean Sea, western Sicily, Egadi Islands marine protected area, biological invasions, Mollusca, Aplysia dactylomela

Submitted 20 December 2013; accepted 29 January 2014

INTRODUCTION RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Aplysia dactylomela Rang, 1828 is a large yellowish-brownish A total of 18 specimens were found along the coasts of the
opistobranch with black rings and a reticulation. Until recent- Island of Favignana (Egadi Islands marine protected area,
ly, it was known to be distributed worldwide in tropical and western Sicily) in July 2013 (Figure 1; Table 2). At first,
warm temperate waters (e.g. Bebbington, 1977; Wirtz, 1999; two specimens of Aplysia dactylomela were recorded at
Dekker & Orlin, 2000; Ortea et al., 2001; Burn, 2006). Cala Monaci, on the southern coast of the Island
However, a recent molecular study showed that the (Figure 2). One specimen was found at a depth of 75 cm
Indo-Pacific populations may belong to another morphologic- on a rocky shore characterized by high sedimentation and
ally similar species, Aplysia argus (Ru¨ppel & Leuckart, 1828)
(Alexander & Valde´s, 2013). The species, considered an
alien in the Mediterranean, was first recorded in the
Mediterranean Sea, from the Island of Lampedusa (AG),
Sicily Channel (Trainito, 2003). The actual distribution of A.
dactylomela is restricted to the central and eastern
Mediterranean (Pasternak & Galil, 2010; Crocetta et al.,
2013), thus suggesting it to be of Indo-Pacific origin (Yoke¸s,
2006; Crocetta & Galil, 2012; Kout, 2012; Pirkenseer, 2013).

However, the molecular studies conducted on the
Mediterranean specimens revealed that in the Mediterranean
there is only A. dactylomela, originating from the Atlantic
(Valde´s et al., 2013). At present it remains still unresolved if
the introduction of A. dactylomela has been a human-mediated
or a natural event, even though the second hypothesis seems to
be the more likely (Valde´s et al., 2013) thereby changing its
status from alien to new comer. Sicilian records of this
species include till now the eastern Sicilian shores from
Messina to Syracuse (see Table 1).

Corresponding author: Fig. 1. Map showing the records of Aplysia dactylomela in the Island of
A.M. Mannino Favignana.
Email: annamaria.mannino@unipa.it
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