Second record of the Cobia, Rachycentron canadum (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Rachycentridae), from the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

On 2 August 2013, a specimen of the cobia, Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1766), was caught off Marmaris, south-eastern Aegean coast of Turkey. The fish was examined and morphometric characteristics of the specimen collected were determined. The species is being reported from the second time in the Mediterranean, preceded by its first occurrence off Haifa, Israel in 1978. The newly caught specimen was larger (SL) than the previously recorded individual (923 mm vs. 766 mm). All measurements, counts, and colour patterns determined were consistent with earlier published descriptions of the species.

Keywords

• Rachycentron canadum
• cobia
• Lessepsian migration