Lessepsian migrants , named after Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French engineer in charge of the Suez Canal's construction, are marine species that are native to the waters on one side of the Suez Canal, and which have been introduced by passage through the canal to the waters on its other side, giving rise to new colonies there and often becoming invasive.
Most Lessepsian migrations are of Red Sea species invading the Mediterranean Sea; few occur in the opposite direction.
The year given denotes the first record in the Mediterranean (often distinct from the year of publication).
The emperor angelfish is a species of marine angelfish. It is a reef-associated fish, native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from the Red Sea to Hawaii and the Austral Islands. This species is generally associated with stable populations and faces no major threats of extinction. It is a favorite of photographers, artists, and aquarists because of its unique, brilliant pattern of coloration.
The Lessepsian migration is the migration of marine species along the Suez Canal, usually from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and more rarely in the opposite direction. When the canal was completed in 1869, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other marine animals and plants were exposed to an artificial passage between the two naturally separate bodies of water, and cross-contamination was made possible between formerly isolated ecosystems. The phenomenon is still occurring today. It is named after Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French diplomat in charge of the canal's construction.
The yellowtail barracuda is one of the smaller species of barracuda of the family Sphyraenidae, which can be found in Indo-West Pacific oceans. It has also invaded the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea, making it one of the Lessepsian migrants.
The Indo-Pacific sergeant is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It may also be known as the Sergeant major although this name is usually reserved for the closely related species Abudefduf saxatilis. The closely related Abudefduf caudobimaculatus was formerly considered to be synonymous with this species and, according to some authorities, is synonymous.
The blacktail butterflyfish, also known as black-tailed butterflyfish or exquisite butterflyfish, is a species marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the western Indian Ocean but has reached the Mediterranean Sea as a Lessepsian migrant through the Suez Canal.
Platax teira, also known as the teira batfish, longfin batfish, longfin spadefish, or round faced batfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ephippidae, the spadefishes and batfishes. This species is found in the Indo-West Pacific.
The bluespotted cornetfish, also known as smooth cornetfish or smooth flutemouth, is a marine fish which belongs to the family Fistulariidae. This very long and slender reef-dweller belongs to the same order as the pipefishes and seahorses, called Syngnathiformes.
Caloria indica is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Trypauchen vagina, commonly known as the burrowing goby, is a species of eel goby found in the Indo-Pacific region. It has an elongated body about 20 to 22 cm in length. It is reddish-pink in color and possesses distinctive pouches in the upper edges of its gill covers. It lives in burrows in the silty and muddy bottoms of its marine and brackish habitats. It has reduced eyes that are entirely covered with skin and the anterior portion of its head is protected by thick flesh. Both adaptations aid it in digging its burrows.
Plotosus lineatus, commonly known as the striped eel catfish, is a species of eeltail catfishes belonging to the family Plotosidae. Like most other members of the genus Plotosus, they possesses highly venomous spines that they can use to sting when threatened. The venom can cause mild to severe symptoms in humans. P. lineatus is native to the Indo-Pacific but has become introduced to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal as a Lessepsian migrant.
Ostorhinchus fasciatus, commonly known as the broad-banded cardinalfish, is a marine fish native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans which is a Lessepsian migrant to the eastern Mediterranean through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea, it was first recorded off Israel in 2008 and has now reached the southern coast of Turkey. It has a number of vernacular names including barred striped cardinalfish, four-banded soldier-fish, striped cardinalfish and twostripe cardinalfish.
Priacanthus sagittarius, The arrow bulleye, is a species of marine ray finned fish, a bigeye in the family Priacanthidae. It is native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is also observed since 2009, in rare occasions, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, which it most likely entered via the Suez Canal.
Chaetodon larvatus, commonly known as the hooded butterflyfish or orangeface butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and has been recorded twice recently in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Palestine and Syria.
Vanderhorstia mertensi, Mertens' shrimp goby or the slender shrimp goby, is a ray-finned fish species native to the Red Sea, Japan, Papua-New Guinea and the Great Barrier Reef. Male individuals can reach a length of 11 cm in total. In 2008 a first specimen was collected in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Gulf of Fethiye, southern Turkey, where it was found on sandy bottoms in the vicinity of beds of sea grass. It is now common in Israel, Turkey and Greece. According to the Mediterranean Science Commission this species most likely entered the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal from the Red Sea.
The specific name honours the German herpetologist Robert Mertens (1894-1975), the former director of the Naturmuseum Senckenberg in Frankfurt, from whom the author, Klausewitz, learnt about the biological and ecological view of modern systematics and taxonomy.
Sphyraena chrysotaenia, the yellowstripe barracuda, is a species of predatory, ray finned fish from the family Sphyraenidae which is found in the Indo-West Pacific region. It has entered the Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal as a Lessepesian migrant and is now an important species in the fisheries of the eastern Mediterranean.
Atergatis roseus, the pancake crab, is a species of reef crab from the family Xanthidae with a natural range extending from the Red Sea to Fiji. It has colonised the eastern Mediterranean by Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal. The flesh of this crab, like many other species in the family Xanthidae, is toxic.
Pomadasys stridens, the striped piggy or lined piggy, is a grunt from the western Indian Ocean and is one of a group of Indo-Pacific marine species which have colonised the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea, a process known as Lessepsian migration.
Oxyurichthys petersii, commonly known as Peters' goby, is a species of ray-finned fish, a goby, from the family Oxudercidae. It is native to the Red Sea, and has now colonised the eastern Mediterranean Sea by Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal.
Epinephelus geoffroyi, the Red Sea spotted grouper, is a species of marine fish in the genus Epinephelus in the grouper family. The species was first described in 1870. E. geoffroyi was previously considered a synonym of Epinephelus chlorostigma, but Randall et al. recognized it as a valid species in 2013.
Equulites popei, Pope's ponyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a ponyfish from the family Leiognathidae. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution which extends from the Red Sea east to the western Pacific Ocean. It has entered the Mediterranean as a Lessepsian migrant. It was formerly considered to be synonymous with the elongate ponyfish.