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A gastropod from the tropical Atlantic becomes an established alien in the Mediterranean

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Abstract

We report the occurrence of an established population of the gastropod Mitrella psilla (Duclos, 1846), native on west African coasts of Mauritania, Senegal and Angola, on the shore of La Goulette, Bay of Tunis. The molluscan species of tropical West African affinity hitherto ascertained in the Mediterranean are not aliens, but have a native range which encompasses at least part of the Alboran Sea since historical times. Mitrella psilla appears therefore as the first instance of a mollusc with a tropical Atlantic origin being added to the Mediterranean fauna. The species was found near an important commercial harbour and is presumed to have been introduced by shipping.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported by grant no. B/9430/07 from Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Tunis El Manar, 2092, Tunis, Tunisia

    Mouna Antit & Atf Azzouna

  2. Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Ciencias, 29071, Málaga, Spain

    Serge Gofas

Authors
  1. Mouna Antit
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  2. Serge Gofas
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  3. Atf Azzouna
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Correspondence to Serge Gofas.

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Antit, M., Gofas, S. & Azzouna, A. A gastropod from the tropical Atlantic becomes an established alien in the Mediterranean. Biol Invasions 12, 991–994 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-009-9532-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-009-9532-2

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