Journal of Fisheries & Livestock Production
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Anthopleura ballii; Aulactinia rubripunctata; Aulactinia verrucosa; Cereus pedunculatus; Actiniidae; Sagartiidae; Lebanon; Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Order Actiniaria Hertwig, 1882, includes about 1100 species worldwide and 51 species in the Mediterranean Sea. In the Levantine Sea, 18 species of sea anemones are known [1-4].

Along the Lebanese coast nine species belonging to five families of the order Actiniaria were reported until now: Actinia mediterranea (Schmidt, 1971), Adamsia palliata (Fabricius, 1779), Aiptasia mutabilis (Gravenhorst, 1831), Anemonia viridis (Forsskål, 1775), Bunodeopsis strumosa (Andrès, 1881), Calliactis parasitica (Couch, 1842), Condylactis aurantiaca (Delle Chiaje, 1825), Hormathia alba (Andrès, 1880) and Telmatactis cricoides (Duchassaing, 1850) [5-9]. However, Actiniaria species from the Lebanese coast remain insufficiently studied. This note reports four species of sea anemones recorded for the first time from this coast.

During many fieldworks done by one of us (A. Badreddine) along the coast of Saksakiyeh south Lebanon (33°43’9711”N; 35°27’4219”E) (Figure 1), four species of sea anemones new for this region were observed and photographed in the tidal pools of the large vermetid reef of the studied site. Many photos of each specimen were taken to confirm the identification. Date of observation and number of individuals of each species are provided in Table 1.

Table 1: Records of the four sea anemones along the vermetid reef of Saksakiyeh.

Figure 1: Location where the four sea anemones species were observed and photographed in Saksakiyeh, south Lebanon.

As result, four species of sea anemones were recorded for the first time along the Lebanese coast: the red speckled anemone Anthopleura ballii (Cocks, 1851), the gem anemone Aulactinia rubripunctata (Grube, 1840), Aulactinia verrucosa (Pennant, 1777), and the daisy anemone Cereus pedunculatus (Pennant, 1777). These species belong to three genera which have not been reported from this region before. Also, the family Sagartiidae is reported from Lebanese coast for the first time.

Systematics

Characters of the species

Anthopleura ballii is distinguished by its yellowish tentacles arranged into 5 circles with a brilliant green sheen. Its column covered by small warts arranged into longitudinal rows (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Four specimens of Anthopleura ballii Phylum Cnidaria Hatschek, 1888 Order Actiniaria Hertwig, 1882 Family Actiniidae Rafinesque, 1815 Genus Anthopleura Michelotti, 1860 Anthopleura ballii (Cocks, 1851).

Remarks

Anthopleura ballii (Cocks, 1851) is an Atlantic-Mediterranean species, known in the Mediterranean Sea from its Western (including the Adriatic Sea) and Levantine basin [1, 3, 10-12].

Characters of the species

Aulactinia rubripunctata is characterized by its red tentacles, greenish oral disc, and distinguished yellowish column accompanied by a red spot on the verrucae (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Specimens of Aulactinia rubripunctata Genus Aulactinia Agassiz in Verrill, 1864 Aulactinia rubripunctata (Grube, 1840).

Remarks

Aulactinia rubripunctata (Grube, 1840) is an Atlantic- Mediterranean species, known in the Mediterranean Sea from its western (including the Adriatic Sea) and eastern (including the Aegean and Levantine Seas) [1, 3, 10, 11].

Characters of the species

Aulactinia verrucosa is easily distinguished by pink markings on the tentacles, greenish-olive oral disc, two small pink lines marking siphonoglyphes on the corners of the mouth (Figure 4), and soft pink column (personal observation of A. Badreddine).

Figure 4: Two specimens of Aulactinia verrucosa Aulactinia verrucosa (Pennant, 1777).

Remarks

Aulactinia verrucosa (Pennant, 1777) is an Atlantic-Mediterranean species. In the Mediterranean Sea, A. verrucosa was reported from its Western (including the Adriatic Sea) and Eastern (including the Aegean Sea) basins [1, 3, 10]. In the Levantine basin, A. verrucosa was reported from the Southern Levantine coast [13] and the Turkish waters [11].

Characters of the species

Cereus pedunculatus is easily distinguished by its numerous tentacles arranged in the form of a crown (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Specimen of Cereus pedunculatus Family Sagartiidae Gosse, 1858 Genus Cereus Ilmoni, 1830 Cereus pedunculatus (Pennant, 1777).

Remarks

Cereus pedunculatus (Pennant, 1777) is an Atlantic-Mediterranean species, well reported from different localities of the Mediterranean Sea, its western (including the Adriatic Sea), central and eastern (including the Aegean, Black Seas and Levantine basins) parts [1, 3, 10, 11].

Four other species of sea anemones are known to occur along the Lebanese coast in the tidal pools of the vermetid reefs and sometime in the first-meter depth: Actinia mediterranea, Aiptasia mutabilis, Anemonia viridis and Condylactis aurantiaca (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Sea anemones from the tidal pools of the vermetid reefs along the Lebanese coast A. Actinia mediterranea, B. Aiptasia mutabilis, C. Anemonia viridis, and D. Condylactis aurantiaca.

These new records of sea anemone species along the Lebanese coast complement the data from the Levantine Sea [1, 3, 11, 13]. Indeed, the records of this sea anemone species in the tidal pool of a vermetid reef confirm the importance of this biogenic formation, as ecosystems engineering regrouping a diverse fauna and flora, along the Lebanese coast [14]. It is therefore, of higher importance to protect such ecosystems and continue to investigate the fauna and flora associated with the vermetid reefs along the Lebanese coast. Finally, further research on sea anemone diversity along the Levantine coast, including the Lebanese coast, is required to monitor the existing species status and investigate the presence of new records.

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