Olbia Harbour. 2010 Marchini et al., 2014. Venice Lagoon. 2012 Marchini et al., 2014. El Kantaoui Harbour. 2012 Tempesti et al., 2016. El Kantaoui Harbour.
Further records of Paranthura japonica Richardson, 1909 (Anthuridea,, Isopoda) from a Mediterranean commercial harbour J. Tempesti,, J. Langeneck, A. Castelli Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Pisa, via Derna 1, 56126 Pisa (PI), Italy
c a Paranthura japonica Richardson, 1909, firstly described from Hokkaido Island (Japan), was recently discovered in the southern Bay of Biscay (Arcachon Bay, France), where it was identified as NIS (non-indigenous species). Subsequently it was reported from several Mediterranean areas (see Fig. 2 and Tab. 1), mostly in commercial harbours. The main hypothesis for the arrival and spread of P. japonica is oysters and mussels trade and farming, and the misidentification of this species as a native Paranthura could have been the cause of its late identification. The present record documents the presence of P. japonica in another Mediterranean Figure 1. a) Paranthura japonica collected in the commercial harbour of Livorno. b) Close-up of the last pleonites and telson showing the medial fusion of the pleonites and the shape of uropods. harbour. During routinary sampling of fouling assemblages along the docks of the commercial and touristic harbour of Livorno in November 2015, two individuals of P. japonica (Fig. 1a) were found, in sympatry with two individuals of the native Paranthura nigropunctata (Lucas, 1846). Subsequent samplings, samplings carried out in April 2016, highlighted the presence of this species in hard bottom communities also in other sites within the harbour, often with high density.
a
b
Table 1. Current records of Paranthura japonica in NorthEastern Atlantic and Mediterranean waters. 2012
Locality
2007 2010
2015
Arcachon Bay
2014
La Spezia Harbour 2010
Olbia Harbour
2013
Venice Lagoon El Kantaoui Harbour 2012
2012
Heraklion Harbour Mar Piccolo of Taranto La Grande-Motte marina Livorno Harbour
Year Reference 2007 Lavesque et al., 2013 2010 Marchini et al., 2014 2010 Marchini et al., 2014 2012 Marchini et al., 2014 2012 Tempesti et al., 2016 2012 Tempesti et al., 2016 2013 Lorenti et al., 2015 2014 Marchini et al., 2015 2015 Present data
Figure 2. Current distribution of Paranthura japonica in the North-Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
P. japonica can be distinguished from the native P. nigropunctata by the following morphological features: i) pleonites 1-5 5 fused medially but not laterally ii) uropod exopods with distal concavity on mesial margin iii) pleotelson not reaching beyond tip of uropod endopods. It is interesting to note that P. japonica was found in the most protected area of several harbours, along the docks. This record supports the hypotesis that the species has a preference for both natural and artificial hard substrate; however, the species can occur on soft sediments as epibenthic macrofauna as well (Tempesti et al., 2016). This new record within Mediterranean harbours, along with others already reported in the literature, can help to understand the dynamics of temporal and spatial distribution of the species and show signals of a quick range expansion in the Mediterranean Sea, facilitated by port activities and trades. References Lavesque N., Sorbe J.C., Bachelet G., Goillieux B., Montau-Douin, et al. (2013). Recent discovery of Paranthura japonica Richardson, 1909 (Crustacea: ( Isopoda: Paranthuridae) in European marine waters (Arcachon Bay, Bay of Biscay). BioInvasion Records 2: 215-219. Lorenti M., Keppel E., Petrocelli A., Sigovini M., Tagliapietra D. (2015). The non-indigenous Paranthura japonica Richardson, 1909 (Isopoda Isopoda: Anthuroidea: Paranthuridae) from the Mar Piccolo lagoon, Taranto (Italy, Mediterranean Sea). Environmental Science and Pollution Research , DOI 10.1007/s11356-015-4994-5 Marchini A., Ferrario J., Minchin D. (2015). Marinas may act as hubs for the spread of the pseudo-indigenous bryozoan Amathia verticillata (Delle Chiaje, 1822) and its associates. Scientia Marina 79: 355-365. Marchini A., Sorbe J.C., Torelli F., Lodola A., Occhipinti-Ambrogi A. (2014). The non-indigenous Paranthura japonica Richardson, 1909 in the Mediterranean Sea: travelling with shellfish? Mediterranean Marine Science 15: 545-553. Tempesti J., Rossano C., Gambineri S., Plaiti W., Scapini F. (2016). New records in the Mediterranean for the non-indigenous species Paranthura japonica (Richardson, 1909) (Anthuridea, Isopoda). Biologia Marina Mediterranea, in press.
