Revision of the family Ammodytidae (Perciformes) in the Mediterranean with the first record of Gymnammodytes semisquamatus

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Authors: Sabatés, A., Demestre, M., Sanchez, P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1990
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400036535; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315400036535

The study of the morphological and meristic characters of larval and adult sandeels ( Gymnammodytes spp.) collected off the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean) has revealed the co-occurrence of G. cicerelus and G. semisquamatus in the Mediterranean. The geo-graphical distribution of G. semisquamatus had hitherto been thought to be limited to the European Atlantic coasts. The comparative analysis of specimens of G. semisquamatus from the Mediterranean and from the North Atlantic has demonstrated a marked latitudinal cline in the meristic counts. An exhaustive overview is presented of the bibliography referring to the Ammodytidae family in the Mediterranean, and the validity of the numerous references is discussed. Finally, it has been shown that the accepted description of G. cicerelus included the two species: G. cicerelus and G. semisquamatus . In the present paper an up-to-date diagnosis of both species is presented.