Abstract
Lagocephalus sceleratus is widely distributed in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean as well as
 the Red Sea, and more recently in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea. L. sceleratus in the
 Mediterranean has been first recorded from Gökova Bay, southern Aegean Sea in 2003. Since then,
 this fish invaded rapidly whole Levantine basin, especially western and southern Anatolian coasts,
 Israel and Lebanon, Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea, especially Crete and Rhodes, Egypt and
 Libya. The northernmost records of L. sceleratus were given from the Adriatic Sea in both 2012
 and 2013. Lately, the fish reached to Algeria and Spain in 2014. Along the Mediterranean, we have
 just gathered a total of 53 recording locations for L. sceleratus and this compilation work presents
 the update of the spreading of this invasive species throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Considering
 the recent locations where L. sceleratus has been recorded, we advise the regional fisheries
 management authorities that the problem of L. sceleratus is not only problem of the eastern
 Mediterranean anymore but also all Mediterranean marine ecosystem. Recent developments show
 that it is time to work on a guideline to monitor its impacts and mitigate the negative effects of this
 species in the Mediterranean.
Highlights
Silver-cheeked toadfish, Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1788) is a demersal, solitary fish found usually at depths of 10-50 m but was recorded at 100 m (Golani et al, 2006)
The northernmost records of L. sceleratus were given from the Adriatic Sea in both 2012 and 2013
Along the Mediterranean, we have just gathered a total of 53 recording locations for L. sceleratus and this compilation work presents the update of the spreading of this invasive species throughout the Mediterranean Sea
Summary
Silver-cheeked toadfish, Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1788) is a demersal, solitary fish found usually at depths of 10-50 m but was recorded at 100 m (Golani et al, 2006). L. sceleratus is one of the largest members of Tetraodontidae family, reaching 110 cm SL and 7 kg weight First confirmed record of L. sceleratus (Figure 1) in the Mediterranean Sea has been given by Akyol et al (2005) from Gökova Bay on 17 February 2003. Mouneimne (1977) recorded it as misidentification of the similar pufferfish L. suezensis (see, Golani, 1996).
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