Notes on the distribution and biology of northern brown shrimpFarfantepenaeus aztecus (Ives, 1891) in the eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

From November 2013 to March 2014, 14 female specimens of the nonindigenous penaeid species northern brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus were caught in Thermaikos Gulf and Nestos estuaries (northern Aegean Sea), as well as one male in the Argolikos Gulf (central Aegean Sea) and 1 female in the Ionian Sea, further confirming their expansion range in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Along with the external morphology of the specimens, sequencing analysis of the 16S rDNA gene of mtDNA confirmed the species identification. Recognition of large mature individuals strongly supports that the already established species in the Greek seas could be efficiently reproduced.