Marine Science and Technology Bulletin

Yazarlar: Hasan Deniz AKBORA, Robin SNAPE, Deniz AYAS, Burak Ali ÇİÇEK

Konular:Balıkçılık, Deniz ve Tatlı Su Biyolojisi

DOI:10.33714/masteb.722547

Anahtar Kelimeler:Tetraodontidae,Incidental catch,Morphometrics,Maximum size report,Levant Basin,A rare occurrence

Özet: Blunthead puffer Sphoeroides pachygaster (Müller and Troschel, 1848) is a circumglobally distributed Tetraodontid found in temperate and tropical waters. It is believed to have colonized the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. There are relatively few records of this fish in the Mediterranean Sea. On March 2020, a mature female individual was caught incidentally by a commercial fisher in Northern Cyprus. The fish was 520 mm in total length and 1200 grams in total weight. Detailed morphometrics and meristics were reported. This study is the first substantiated record of S. pachygaster from Cyprus waters, and the specimen is the largest blunthead puffer reported with a 455 mm standard length and 520 mm total length.

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