Abstract
In the marine environment, shipping is globally acknowledged as the major vector of introduction of organisms outside their native range. We surveyed harbours and marinas in the Western Mediterranean Sea for occurrence of non-indigenous species. More than 200 specimens of the Japanese amphipod Grandidierella japonica were collected in 2013 from the docks of the marina of Viareggio (Tuscany, Tyrrhenian Sea). This is the first record of this species for the Mediterranean Sea. G. japonica was previously introduced elsewhere by oyster trade and shipping; in the case of Viareggio, where no aquaculture facilities or international shipping occur, recreational boating is the only likely vector of introduction. In Europe, G. japonica is currently confined by a few localities, mainly estuaries, enclosed bays and brackish water areas, but its successful history of invasion in the Pacific coasts of North America suggests that a further spread can be expected in the Mediterranean Sea as well.
Highlights
In the marine environment, shipping is globally acknowledged as the major vector of introduction of organisms outside their native range
While analysing crustaceans collected in July 2013 in a marina in Tuscany (Italy), we noticed an unusual aorid amphipod, with a male gnathopod 1 presenting 18–20 transverse fine ridges on the anterior edge of carpus
Comparison Descriptions of G. japonica were provided by several authors after records from various localities, sometimes highlighting variations, mainly related to male gnathopod 1
Summary
In the marine environment, shipping is globally acknowledged as the major vector of introduction of organisms outside their native range. Grandidierella is a rather speciose genus, with 43 currently accepted species (Lowry 2016), only 5 of them have the “stridulating ridges” (Stephensen 1938) on male gnathopod 1 carpus and, within them, only one has 3 teeth (one main tooth and two accessory teeth) at the posterodistal corner of the carpus: Grandidierella japonica Stephensen 1938. This species was originally described from Japan. This article reports details on the first finding of this species in the Mediterranean Sea, an assessment of its likely vectors and pathways of introduction, and an analysis of the variations among the available descriptions of G. japonica from both the native and introduced ranges
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