First record of Baillon’s wrasse Symphodus bailloni (Labridae) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea coast of Syria

Abstract

On 29 May 2022, two specimens of Baillon’s wrasse, Symphodus bailloni (Valenciennes, 1839) were captured from the coast of Syria
(eastern Mediterranean Sea). Sampled two specimens of S. bailloni were measured at 117 and120 mm in TL and weighed 25.7 and 23.2
g. These findings is the first records of this species in the Levant Basin, and the easternmost extension range of the species in the
Mediterranean Sea. Symphodus bailloni is not a herculean or Lessepsian migrant but should be considered as a permanent resident of the
Mediterranean basin despite the fact not largely distributed.