First record and new depth range extension of the curled Picarel, Centracanthus cirrus (Sparidae) from the Sea of Marmara, Turkey

Abstract

Centracanthus cirrus Rafinesque, 1810 has a large distribution, in Eastern Atlantic from Mauritania (Mohamed Fall, unpubl. data) to Portugal and also along the Mediterranean coasts. More specifically, its presence was reported on Turkish coasts and in the Aegean Sea (Fischer, 1973; Tortonese, 1986; Fischer et al., 1987; Mater and Meric, 1996; Mater and Bilecenoglu, 1999). Ozaydm et al. (2000) described age and growth relationships in Northern Cyprus, Eastern Mediterranean Sea. However, there is no information about the presence of C. cirrus in the Sea of Marmara. We are reporting here the occurrence of C. cirrus off Ucmakdere, in the West part of the Sea of Marmara (Turkey), at 1,000 m depth (Fig. 1).