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5. GREECE

5.1 First record of the Indo-Pacific gastropod Rhinoclavis kochi from Greece

D. Poursanidis & G. Zaminos
Rhinoclavis kochi (Philippi, 1848) has been recorded
from the coast of Israel, the north part of Cyprus and south-
ern Turkey (Zenetos et al., 2004 and references therein).
A record from Kefallonia Island, Katavothres area, Ionian
Sea (De Smit & Baba, 2001) has been judged as doubt-
ful, and has not been included in the Hellenic Network
on Aquatic Invasive Species list (Zenetos et al., 2015).
During summer 2016, six empty shells of the gastropod
Rhinoclavis kochi (Philippi, 1848) (Fig. 16) were found
in the north of Gavdos Island, at Agios Ioannis beach
(34.868156 N, 24.084003 E), during snorkeling activity
on soft bottoms at 5 m depth. The material is stored in the
second author’s personal collection.
This finding constitutes the first record of the species
from Greece, extending its distribution to the East Medi-
terranean. Careful research in the same area may lead to Fig. 16: The biggest shell of the collected gastropod Rhinocla-
the finding of living specimens. vis kochi (Philippi, 1848) with a total length of 3 cm.

5.2 First record of Hexanchus griseus from Saronikos Gulf (Aegean Sea)
Ch. Mytilineou & A. Anastasopoulou

The bluntnose sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus) oc-
curs in all oceans (www.fishbase.org). This shark thrives
in the most widespread distribution of all known sharks,
with the possible exception of the white shark. It lives
in deeper and cooler waters (100 -2000 m), close to the
bottom, possibly rising to the surface at night (Boesman,
1989). The young are often found closer inshore; the
adults often in deeper waters (Cook & Compagno, 2005).
The Bluntnose Sixgill Shark is caught as bycatch in sever-
al fisheries and appears vulnerable to overfishing. In the
Mediterranean, the species has been assessed as being of
Least Concern (Soldo et al., 2016). However, despite the
lack of specific data, the Bluntnose Sixgill Shark popula-
tion can be assumed as being stable in the area (Soldo et
al., 2016).
On June 5 2015, during experimental bottom trawl
th
fishing carried out within the framework of the EPILEXIS
project in Saronikos Gulf (Southern Aegean Sea), a speci-
men of H. griseus was trapped in the codend of the gear
(Fig. 17). It was caught off Aigina and Poros Islands (be-
tween 37.5691 N, 23.49702 E and 37.58445 N, 23.4716 o
o
o
o
E), at a depth of around 250 m. The specimen was 3.6 m
long and weighed almost 270 kg. It was alive and was
successfully released into the sea as soon as it was possi-
ble. It was characterized by a blunt rounded snout and six
long gill slits on either side of its head. Other distinguish-
ing features included its fluorescent green eyes and the
Fig. 17: Hexanchus griseus realesed into the sea. single dorsal fin located close to the caudal fin. Based on

192 Medit. Mar. Sci., 18/1, 2017, 179-201