Filling the gap: First confirmed record for the Ophisurus serpens (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from the Anatolian coast of the South Aegean Sea

Abstract

The occurrence of the rare serpent eel Ophisurus serpens is reported here for the first time from the Anatolian coasts of the South Aegean Sea. On 5 January 2015, a single specimen with a total length of 121. 2Â cm and 363.14Â g was collected by seine boat off Gökova Bay, Turkey. This finding shows that its population is expanding southwards, from Izmir to the Anatolian coasts of the Aegean Sea. Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015Â.