First Record of Lampris guttatus (Brünnich, 1788) in North-Eastern Mediterranean (Mersin Bay, Turkey)

Abstract

A single male specimen of the Opah Lampris guttatus (Brünnich, 1788) (50 cm in total length and 5 kg in weight) was caught off Erdemli coast, Turkey at a depth of 185 m by a commercial trammel net on 27 May 2017. The present work is the first report of L. guttatus from the Northeastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. All measurements and counts, morphological description and color of the opah agree with previous descriptions. Although L. guttatus has distributed at a large area covering both tropical to temperate waters including Mediterranean, this is the first confirmed report of the species from Turkish marine waters including the eastern Mediterranean area.