First Record of the Pompano, Trachinotus ovatus (Linnaeus, 1758), from the Southeastern Black Sea, with Molecular Characterization and Notes on Range Expansion

Abstract

Trachinotus ovatus (Linnaeus, 1758), commonly known as pompano, is a warm-water carangid native to the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic that has recently expanded northward into the Turkish Straits System and the Black Sea. Here we report the first confirmed record of T. ovatus from the southeastern Black Sea, based on a specimen caught off Trabzon coast of the Black Sea in November 2025 by a local fisherman. The specimen was morphologically identified and genetically verified using mitochondrial COI, cytb, and 16S rRNA gene regions. COI phylogeny and haplotype network analyses revealed two deeply divergent lineages currently labeled as T. ovatus; a true Atlantic–Mediterranean clade and a misidentified Indo-Pacific clade. The Black Sea specimen clustered closely within the Mediterranean lineage, differing from Mediterranean sequences by only three substitutions, whereas Pacific sequences diverged by 79 bp, supporting recent taxonomic revisions indicating widespread mislabeling of Indo-Pacific Trachinotus as T. ovatus. Cytb phylogeny similarly placed the specimen with eastern Atlantic samples, and the 16S sequence represents the first publicly available reference for the species. These data confirm that the Black Sea specimen originates from the Mediterranean population and likely reflects a climate-driven northward range expansion. Continued monitoring is essential to determine whether T. ovatus will establish a persistent population in the Black Sea under ongoing warming and faunal restructuring.

Keywords

• non-indigenous
• extension
• barcoding
• phylogeny

Güneydoğu Karadeniz’den Pompano (Trachinotus ovatus (Linnaeus, 1758)) Türüne Ait İlk Kayıt: Moleküler Karakterizasyon ve Yayılım Dinamiklerine İlişkin Notlar

Abstract

Trachinotus ovatus (Linnaeus, 1758), yaygın adıyla Pompano, Akdeniz ve Doğu Atlantik’e özgü bir karangid türü olup, son yıllarda Türk Boğazları Sistemi üzerinden Karadeniz’e doğru kuzey yönlü bir yayılım göstermektedir. Bu çalışma T. ovatus’un güneydoğu Karadeniz’deki varlığına dair ilk kayıt niteliğindedir. Kasım 2025’de yerel bir balıkçı tarafından Trabzon kıyılarında yakalanan bireyin morfolojik ve genetik (COX1, 16S rRNA, cytb) olarak T. ovatus olduğu belirlenmiştir. GenBank veri tabanındaki mevcut COX1 referans diziler kullanılarak yapılan filogeni ve haplotip ağ analizlerinde Atlantik-Akdeniz ve Indo-Pasifik olmak üzere iki farklı hat belirlenmiştir. Çalışmada incelenen Karaadeniz örneği Akdeniz dizileri ile birlikte kümelenmiş ve 3 baz farklı göstermiştir. Öte yandan Pasifik dizileri ile Akdeniz dizileri arasında yaklaşık 79 bazlık bir farklılık gözlenmiştir. Bu durum Indo-Pasifik Trachinotus cinsi türlerin yanlış isimlendirildiğini göstermektedir. Cytb filogenisi de benzer şekilde Karadeniz’de yakalanan türün Atlantik örneği ile yüksek benzerlik gösterdiğini ortaya koymuştur. Bu çalışmada üretilen 16S rRNA gen dizisi ise tür için dizilenen ilk 16S rRNA gen bölgesidir. Tüm bulgular, Karadeniz örneğinin Akdeniz popülasyonuna ait olduğunu doğrulamakta ve türün iklim değişikliğiyle ilişkili doğal bir kuzey yönlü yayılımı temsil ettiğini düşündürmektedir. Fauna değişimi ve küresel ısınma ışığında, T. ovatus’un Karadeniz’de kalıcı bir popülasyon oluşturup oluşturmayacağını belirlemek için sürekli izleme çalışmalarının yapılması elzemdir.

Keywords

• yabancı tür
• yayılım
• barkodlama
• filogeni

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