THE INDO-PACIFIC SPECIES OF MOLLUSCA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND NOTES ON A COLLECTION FROM THE SUEZ CANAL

ABSTRACT

The presence of Indo-Pacific Mollusca in the Mediterranean has been observed since the opening of the Suez Canal: 45 species (26 Gastropoda, 19 Bivalvia) are known to date, nine are recorded for the first time in this paper. Seventeen Indo-Pacific species represented by only one or a few shells are evidently occasional in the Mediterranean. Twenty-eight species which are collected live or as shells over a period of years, may be regarded as residents in the Mediterranean. The egg masses of Cerithium scabridum, Thais carinifera and Bursatella leachi savigniana were found—proof of adaptation to the new habitats. Most of the Indo-Pacific species which have migrated to the Mediterranean occur in the Suez Canal and all of them are found in the Indo-West Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific molluscan newcomers to the Mediterranean are reported chiefly from the Levant coasts, east of the Suez Canal Five species (Umbonium cf. vestiarium, Erronea caurica, Quoyula madreporarum, Lophiotoma indica, Chama broderipi) are recorded only from other parts of the Mediterranean. The northernmost limit of Indo-Pacific Mollusca in the Mediterranean is the Ionian Sea. The migration of Mediterranean species of Mollusca into the Suez Canal is discussed. A list of molluscan species identified from a collection from the Suez Canal is appended.