Did Spiroloculina antillarum, Articulina carinata, Coscinospira hemphrichii, Peneroplis pertusus, P. planatus, Sorites orbiculus, Astacolus insolithus, Siphonina tubulosa, Amphistegina lessonii and A. lobifera reach the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal?

Abstract

Many of the Indo-Pacific originated marine alien species are accepted to be introduced to the Eastern Mediterranean from Red Sea after the opening of Suez Canal and then dispersed towards the Western Mediterranean, as well as the Aegean Sea. However, alien foraminifer species, such as Spiroloculina antillarum, Coscinospira hemprichii, Peneroplis pertusus, P. planatus, Sorites orbiculus, Astacolus insolithus, Siphonina tubulosa, Amphistegina lessonii and A. lobifera have been found in the sediments from southeastern Turkey, which dated much before the Suez Canal. In Akkuyu (Mersin) Amphistegina lobifera were found to be abundant in sediment samples and the OSL (thermolunisence) method surprisingly revealed ages, 227.3±17.8 (Middle Pleistocene), 87.7±9.6 (Late Pleistocene) and 6.0±0.6 (Holocene) thousand years before present. This finding suggests that some alien foraminifers might have entered the Eastern Mediterranean, not from Suez Canal, but through the Red Sea-Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea Fault line and Arabian Gulf-Mesopotamia Basin. 

As a result, the historical pathways, other than Suez Canal should be taken into consideration when defining the mode of introduction for Indo-Pacific originated alien species found in the Mediterranean.

Keywords

• Foraminifers
• Alien
• Suez Canal

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