MARINE AND FISHERY SCIENCES 36 (2): 203-208 (2023)

https://doi.org/10.47193/mafis.3622023010507

ABSTRACT. In the present study, one juvenile specimen of redcoat Sargocentron rubrum

(Forsskål, 1775) was first reported from the Mediterranean coast of Turkey with a visual record dur-

ing an underwater survey conducted from the coast of Arsuz (Konacik), Iskenderun Bay, at a depth

of 3 m, on September 11, 2018. The Family Holocentridae is currently represented in the Mediter-

ranean by seven species, all exotic, six of them originate in the Red Sea (Lessepsian migrants) and

one originates from the Atlantic.

Key words: Holocentridae, visual record, Lessepsian migrant, Iskenderun Bay.

Primer registro de un juvenil de Sargocentron rubrum (Forsskål, 1775) del Mediterráneo

Sudoriental, Turquía

RESUMEN. En el presente estudio, un espécimen juvenil de candil rojo Sargocentron rubrum

(Forsskål, 1775) fue reportado por primera vez en la costa mediterránea de Turquía, mediante un

registro visual durante un estudio submarino realizado desde la costa de Arsuz (Konacik), bahía de

Iskenderun, a una profundidad de 3 m, el 11 de septiembre de 2018. La Familia Holocentridae está

representada actualmente en el Mediterráneo por siete especies, todas exóticas, seis de ellas origi-

narias del Mar Rojo (migrantes lessepsianos) y una originaria del Atlántico.

Palabras clave: Holocentridae, registro visual, migrante lessepsiano, bahía de Iskenderun.

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 resulted in the introduction of

many Red Sea species to the Mediterranean Sea. This ongoing process is

termed ‘Lessepsian migration’ (Por 1978). Since the penetration of the first

Lessepsian migrant Atherinomorus forsskali in 1902, at least 115 fish species

have been recorded and substantiated as migrants from the Red Sea into the

Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal (Kovačić et al. 2021).

Redcoat Sargocentron rubrum (Forsskål, 1775) (Holocentridae) was first

documented from the Mediterranean by Haas and Steinitz (1947) recording

an adult specimen from Palestine and then in Greece, Rhodes (Laskaridis

1948), Cyprus (Demetropoulos and Neocleous 1969) and Libya (Stirn 1970).

Recently, it has been reported from the southwestern Aegean Sea and Pelo-

203

*Correspondence:

deniz.erguden@iste.edu.tr

Received: 12 January 2023

Accepted: 17 March 2023

ISSN 2683-7595 (print)

ISSN 2683-7951 (online)

https://ojs.inidep.edu.ar

Journal of the Instituto Nacional de

Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero

(INIDEP)

This work is licensed under a Creative

Commons Attribution-

NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0

International License

Marine and

Fishery Sciences

MAFIS

NOTE

First occurrence of juvenile Sargocentron rubrum (Forsskål, 1775) from

South-Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey

DENIZ ERGUDEN1, *, NECDET UYGUR2and SIBEL ALAGOZ ERGUDEN3, 4

1Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, Iskenderun Technical University, 31220 - Iskenderun, Turkey. 2Maritime Vocational Higher

School, Iskenderun Technical University, 31220 - Iskenderun, Turkey. 3Imamoglu Vocational School, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey.

4Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Science, Iskenderun Technical University, 31220 - Iskenderun,

Turkey. ORCID Deniz Erguden https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2597-2151, Necdet Uygur https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4460-1735,

Sibel Alagoz Erguden https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4363-433X

ponnose (Zenetos et al. 2013), Tunisia (Amor et

al. 2016), Malta (Deidun et al. 2016). Sargocen-

tron rubrum was first recorded in Turkish marine

waters from the Mediterranean Sea and the Aege-

an Sea (Kosswig 1950) and later this species was

also reported from the Marmara Sea by Artüz and

Golani (2018).

S. rubrum is widespread in the West Pacific

Ocean (Randall et al. 2003). This species is also

known as the spotfin squirrelfish or soldierfish. S.

rubrum is one of the most commonly encountered

species in its genera. It is frequently seen in the

Red Sea, southern Japan to New Caledonia, Van-

uatu and New South Wales, Australia (Williams

and Greenfield 2016; Froese and Pauly 2022).

This fish species is nocturnal, inhabiting caves

and cracks, crevices during the daytime (Kuiter

and Tonozuka 2001).

In the present paper, we reported the first visual

record of juvenile S. rubrum from Iskenderun Bay,

southeastern Mediterranean, Turkey. Besides, we

also believe that reporting the existence of this

juvenile specimen will help scientists and public

authorities working in this field determine the

juvenile stage of this species.

A single juvenile specimen of S. rubrum was

photographed at a depth of 3 m during a SCUBA

diving expedition in Konacik/Arsuz (Iskenderun

Bay, 36° 21'N-35° 49'E) on September 11, 2018

(Figure 1). The surface water temperature was

29° C. This specimen was photographed on a

rocky habitat, partially covered with algae and

sea grass (Figure 2). Morphological and colour

descriptions used for the identification followed

Randall (1998).

Some of the visible features of the specimen of

S. rubrum observed with a camera in SCUBA

diving were as follows. Body compressed and

covered with coarsely scales. Head scaly and

slightly convex. Mouth terminal and sharp nose.

204 MARINE AND FISHERY SCIENCES 36 (2): 203-208 (2023)

Figure 1. Map showing the capture site ( ) of juvenile Sargocentron rubrum in the Mediterranean Sea.

41° 88'

39° 37'

35° 25'

31° 32'

15° 73'23° 20'29° 70'34° 89'

KonacikKonacik

Mediterranean Sea

Black Sea

Turkey

Very large eye (Allen and Swainston 1988;

Golani et al. 2021). The colour of the juvenile

specimen was silvery with bluish upper parts, sil-

very flanks and dark large black spots on dorsal

rays. Tip of membranes of spinous dorsal fin

translucent. Caudal lobes and anterior soft rays of

anal fins whitish. Pectoral fins and pelvic fins

light white.

The Family Holocentridae includes 83 species

all inhabiting tropical and subtropical seas (Nel-

son et al. 2016). Seven species of Holocentridae

have been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea

(Vella et al. 2016; Mehanna and Osman 2022;

Deef 2021; Ghanem et al. 2022). All of them non-

indigenous. Six originating from the Red Sea

(Lessepsian migrants): Neoniphon sammara, Sar-

gocentron caudimaculatum (Rüppell, 1838), Sar-

gocentron rubrum (Forsskål, 1775), Sargocen-

tron spiniferum (Forsskål, 1775), Sargocentron

spinosissimum (Temminck and Schlegel, 1843),

and Sargocentron tiereoides (Bleeker, 1853); and

one of Atlantic origin: Holocentrus adscensionis

(Osbeck, 1765) (Woods and Greenfield 1978;

Greenfield 2002).

205

ERGUDEN ET AL.: OCCURRENCE OF A JUVENILE SPECIMEN OF REDCOAT AT THE TURKISH COAST

Figure 2. A) Underwater observation of Sargocenton rubrum (Forsskål, 1775) in Konacik (Arsuz), Iskenderun Bay. B) Dark

patch on the anterior dorsal fin of juvenile specimen of S. rubrum (photo: Necdet Uygur).

Another species, Sargocentron praslin (La-

cepède, 1802),was mentioned in the literature as

occurring in the Mediterranean, but this is evi-

dently a misidentification of S. rubrum (Golani et

al. 2021). However, Bariche et al. (2015) claimed

that molecular evidence highlighted that more

than one species of Sargocentron could occur in

the Mediterranean Sea.

Sargocentorn rubrum is a benthopelagic

species,usually seen alone or in small groups.

It feeds on benthic crabs, small fishes and

shrimps at night (Golani et al. 1983; Randall et al.

1990; Göthel 1992). The recorded maximum total

length was 32 cm (TL) for this species (Fischer et

al. 1990). This species commonly inhabits sea-

grass beds and hard-bottomed habitats from the

reef flats and on lagoons, bays,and seaward reefs,

sometimes sheltering in branching corals (Lieske

and Myers 1994; Randall and Greenfield 1999).

In the present study, the redcoat S. rubrum was

observed at 3 m depth in the Arsuz coast (Turkey).

The determined juvenile specimen was discovered

while diving between crevices on the rock. Holo-

centrids in their pelagic stage are typically silver-

blue (Lies and Carson-Ewart 2000), thus matching

the coloration of the photographed specimen.

Upon settlement, they change to adult coloration.

The black blotch on the anterior dorsal fin distin-

guishes juvenile S. rubrum from other Mediterra-

nean holocentridae (Golani and Ben-Tuvia 1985).

It naturally occurs at depths of 1-84 m (Randall

1998). The depth range of the discovered juvenile

(3 m) specimen was also in accordance with the

literature (Froese and Pauly 2022).

Sargocentron rubrum is a venomous species. It

has a strong venomous spine at the corner of its

preopercle (Randall and Greenfield 1999). It is a

common species in the aquarium trade in India

(Gopakumar 2008). This species is also used as a

baitfish in tuna fisheries (Blaber et al. 1993).

Our finding in Iskenderun Bay was the first

occurrence, and hence the first evidence of the

juvenile specimen of redcoat on the southeastern

Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Data presented

here are important in terms of the current status of

the species and the biodiversity in the region.

Additionally, this study can be useful in the field

of fisheries and can contribute to both fisheries

management and the knowledge of the juvenile

stage of Sargocentron spp.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Prof. Dr D. Golani for his assistance

in the identification of the juvenile specimen

from captured photographs.

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