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Abstract
Cynoscion is a genus of fish in the family Sciaenidae from the Atlantic and Pacific American coasts that is important in recreational and commercial fisheries. Morphological analysis identifies a species inhabiting the Gulf of Cádiz (southern Spain) as the weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, a native of the northwest Atlantic. This finding is also confirmed by molecular identification using 16S and Cox1genes. Based on the examination of a previous manuscript, the assignation of this species to the spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, is considered a misidentification. C. regalis has been reported in the area since 2011 and is now considered an established species that is distributed along the Guadalquivir River estuary and is a target of local artisanal fisheries. The pathway of introduction is unknown, but possible mechanisms are considered, of which ballast water seems to be the most plausible. A revision of non-native sciaenids also found in European waters is carried out. The ecological impact of weakfish on the local fish community is still unknown and should be object of future studies.
Highlights
The family Sciaenidae comprises approximately 70 genera and 270 species of demersal fishes that are commonly known as drums and croakers, found mainly over muddy or sandy bottoms of tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, from the shoreline up to about 600 m depth (McEachran and Fechhelm 2005, Nelson 2006)
Summary: Cynoscion is a genus of fish in the family Sciaenidae from the Atlantic and Pacific American coasts that is important in recreational and commercial fisheries
Morphological analysis identifies a species inhabiting the Gulf of Cádiz as the weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, a native of the northwest Atlantic. This finding is confirmed by molecular identification using 16S and Cox1genes
Summary
The family Sciaenidae comprises approximately 70 genera and 270 species of demersal fishes that are commonly known as drums and croakers, found mainly over muddy or sandy bottoms of tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, from the shoreline up to about 600 m depth (McEachran and Fechhelm 2005, Nelson 2006). Two introduced sciaenids species have been reported in Atlantic European waters. Two living specimens of the Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus (Linnaeus, 1766), were reported in Belgian waters in 1998 and 2001 (Stevens et al 2004) and one fresh specimen of about 28 cm total length, tentatively identified as M. undulatus, which was found displayed for sale at Plymouth Fish Market in September 2011 (http://www.glaucus.org.uk/), was probably captured in the southwestern approaches (SW Cornwall). One specimen of the spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus (Cuvier, 1830), was caught in 2011 by a fishing vessel on a sandy bottom near the Guadalquivir River estuary, southern Spain (Acosta et al 2013)
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