Pomacanthidae Species in the Mediterranean and a New Location Record of the Emperor Angelfish Pomacanthus imperator (Bloch, 1787) from these Species

Abstract

Angelfish (Pomacanthidae) are fish distributed in reef areas in the tropical and semi-tropical regions of the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans. Up to now, five different species of this particular species have been identified in the Mediterranean, but there are suspicions that one of them is misidentified. The Emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator) is the most frequently reported species from the Pomacanthidae family in the Mediterranean region. This study presents a new record (36°44’34.59"N, 31°24’6.42"E) of the Emperor Angelfish from the Antalya Gulf in the Mediterranean. The recent sighting of P. imperator in the Gulf of Antalya marks its eighth location in the Mediterranean, its second on the Turkish coast, and its first in the Gulf of Antalya. Following this research, the count of fish species originating from the Red Sea found in Antalya Bay has now reached 71. When the location records of this fish in the Mediterranean are examined, it is seen that it has expanded its distribution towards the west.