>The last known hypothesis on the origin of enigmaticus is: Zibrowius, H.,
>1992.- Ongoing modification of the Mediterranean marine fauna and flora
>by the establishment of exotic species. Mesogee 51: 83-107.
Referring to H.A. ten Hove's above message Geoff Read
(Mon, 16 Feb 1998 14:09:33 +1100) asked:
>Might we be told more? Not a widely available journal unfortunately.
Here the extract concerning polychaetes in that alien species compilation:
---------------------------------------
Polychaeta (general information)
Based on literature that unfortunately comprised some
particularly unreliable older publications, Por (1978) listed 9
species of polychaetes (including one species of Serpulidae) as
high-probability, and 14 species (including one species of
Serpulidae) as low-probability lessepsian migrants, and 20 species
(including two species of Serpulidae) as antilessepsian migrants.
A partial correction and updating was provided by Zibrowius
(1983b); in particular, it was stated that considerably more
serpulid species of Indo-Pacific origin had settled on the
Levantine coasts. Por (1989, 1990) was able to refer to new data
obtained by Ben-Eliahu (1989, 1991b) on Nereidae (6 species) and
Serpulidae (see below), whereas data for other polychaete families
remain problematical.
Polychaeta Serpulidae and Spirorbidae
The serpulids of Red Sea/Indo-Pacific origin presently known
from the coasts of Israel and Lebanon are: Hydroides cf.
brachyacantha Rioja, 1941; H. novaepommeraniae Augener, 1925 [= H.
grubei Pillai, 1965]; H. heterocera (Grube, 1868); H. homocera
Pixell, 1913; H. minax (Grube, 1878); H. operculata (Treadwell,
1929); Pomatoleios kraussii (Baird, 1865); Spirobranchus
tetraceros (Schmarda, 1861) (see Laubier, 1966; Zibrowius and
Bitar, 1981; Ben-Eliahu, 1988, 1989, 1991a; Ben-Eliahu and Hove,
1990, 1992). In addition to active dispersal by planktonic larvae,
passive dispersal as ship fouling may have contributed to their
present range. In fact, most of these species, together with
Hydroides albiceps (Grube, 1870), and H. steinitzi Ben-Eliahu,
1972 (both of Red Sea/Indo-Pacific origin), have also been found
among the fouling sampled at Toulon harbour from a ship arriving
from the Indian Ocean via the Suez canal (Zibrowius, 1979). As for
Pomatoleios kraussii, it is wide-spread in the Indo-Pacific (from
Japan to South Africa) and also occurs in the Gulf of Guinea. This
disjunct distribution may well be due to early dispersal by
navigation (Zibrowius, 1983b).
Comprising world-wide > 80 species and particularly specious in
tropical seas, the genus Hydroides is predominant not only among
lessepsian migrants, but also includes the three earliest alien
serpulids in the Mediterranean (Zibrowius, 1971, 1973, 1978,
1983b; Zibrowius and Thorp, 1990). Hydroides dianthus (Verrill,
1873), H. dirampha Moerch, 1863, and H. elegans Haswell, 1883, have
been collected together at Naples from harbour fouling as early as
1888, H. elegans being quantitatively dominant (an association
currently observed in present harbour fouling throughout the
Mediterranean). But two species can be traced back to an even
earlier date: H. dianthus at Izmir (year of publication 1865) and
at Trieste (year of collecting 1874); H. dirampha at Naples (year
of publication 1870). All three species are now widely distributed
in the Mediterranean in harbours and coastal lagoons. The
distribution is disjunct, leaving out "natural" habitats of full
marine salinity, except in areas immediately adjacent to harbours.
Within this pattern, H. dirampha appears to be absent from the
northernmost parts of the Mediterranean and to be more frequent in
the south; its origin could be the tropical American Atlantic. H.
elegans (frequently confused with the autochthonous northeastern
Atlantic and Mediterranean H. norvegica Gunnerus, 1768) also
appears to be of tropical/subtropical origin, but its native area
is even less evident; being first described from Australia does
not prove an Australian origin. H. dianthus appears native of the
Atlantic coast of North America where it occurs in a variety of
"natural" habitats. Possibly the arrival with ship fouling of the
three Hydroides species in the Mediterranean considerably
antedates their first records. Considerable fouling nuisances by
H. elegans have been described by Parenzan (1965) and Paoletti and
Sebastio (1973).
Ficopomatus enigmaticus (Fauvel, 1923) probably was brought to
Europe with ship fouling during the first world war. Dense
brackish water populations were first noticed at London harbour
and in a canal of northern France (Zibrowius and Thorp, 1990). A
few years after its description F. enigmaticus invaded suitable
biota in the Mediterranean where it is now wide-spread in coastal
lagoons and estuaries. Its apparition in San Francisco Bay at the
close of the first world war, as evidenced by local newspaper
accounts (Carlton, 1975), was about contemporary with its
apparition in Europe. Fauvel's hypothesis of an Indian/Indonesian
origin, can be ruled out: other species of Ficopomatus, but not F.
enigmaticus, exist in that area (Hove and Weerdenburg, 1978). The
origin from a subtropical to temperate area, eventually southern
Australia, appears more likely (Zibrowius, 1978, 1983b).
The Spirorbidae Spirorbis marioni Caullery and Mesnil, 1897, and
Pileolaria berkeleyana (Rioja, 1942) have originally been
described from the eastern Pacific (Panama and Mexico). In 1979
both species were discovered on stones in a harbour at Marseille
where they did not exist some years before. Investigations of
harbours and adjacent areas motivated by this discovery and
conducted for several years showed that the two alien species
were differently distributed in the Mediterranean (Zibrowius and
Bianchi, 1981; Zibrowius, 1983a, 1983b). P. berkeleyana was found
limited to harbours in the Marseille area sensu lato (from the
Gulf of Fos in the west to Les Lecques in the east) whereas S.
marioni was already wide-spread, from Morocco through Spain and
France to Italy (southern limit of explorations at Monte
Argentario promontory), including Elba, Corsica and Sardinia. Both
species frequently occur in dense populations. It was also found
that S. marioni and P. berkeleyana had been present in the
Marseille area, and S. marioni at Genova, as early as 1977. Both
spirorbids are able to spread from harbour to harbour by ship
navigation since many of the investigated harbours shelter mainly
small sailing and motor boats that do not travel far. S. marioni
appears to have better spreading abilities, but the previously
studied coasts should be checked again in order to see whether P.
berkeleyana has extended its area.
In 1987 S. marioni has also been found in Izmir Bay and
elsewhere on the Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea, always in
harbour areas (Knight-Jones et al., 1991). It would be of interest
to extend these investigations in view of alien spirorbids to
other parts of the Mediterranean.
-----------------------------------
Helmut ZIBROWIUS
(Centre d'Oceanologie de Marseille)
Station Marine d'Endoume
Rue Batterie des Lions
13007 Marseille / France
E-MAIL: hzibrowi at com.univ-mrs.fr
TEL: within France 0491041624 from abroad +33 491041624
FAX: within France 0491041635 from abroad +33 491041635
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