Fistularia commersonii
Πληροφορίες
Adult bluespotted cornetfish occur on sandy bottoms or above seagrass meadows (Posidonia oceanica or Cymodocea nodosa), but always adjacent to rocky reef areas. They are either solitary or live in schools of 10–20 individuals.
The reproductive season lasts at least six months, from May to October, with a peak in August. Spawning starts at an average water temperature of 22°C.
The body shape and filamentous middle rays distinguish this species from all other Mediterranean fishes. Young specimens (less than 20–30 cm long) can be confused underwater with members of the Belonidae family; however, they can be distinguished from them by the long whip-like tail filament. In addition, Belonidae species are more frequently observed in open water just below the sea surface, while the bluespotted cornetfish is always closer to the bottom.
Another Fistularidae species recorded in the Mediterranean is Fistularia petimba, the red cornetfish. This species is an Atlantic migrant, recorded only from the Alboran Sea. Its shape is very similar, but it is generally longer (up to 2 m); it has also bony plates along the midline of the back (absent in F. commersonii), and is reddish or brownish-orange in colour.
The bluespotted cornetfish is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific and eastern central Pacific. The first individual recorded in the Mediterranean Sea was captured in January 2000 by a fisherman on the coast of Israel. It spread rapidly westwards to Rhodes, the south-eastern Aegean Sea, Greece, the southern shores of Italy in 2002, the northern Tyrrhenian Sea in 2004, Sicily and Malta coasts, the southern coast of Spain in 2007, and the French Mediterranean coast also in 2007. It was repeatedly recorded in Corsica and along the Alpes-Maritimes and Var coast (France) in 2010.
Having achieved such a widespread range over such a short period of time, F. commersonii is the fastest and farthest Lessepsian fish migrant ever recorded.
The bluespotted cornetfish is an extremely voracious predator and is aggressive when in schools. It is one of the top predators in the seas it has invaded, feeding on fish fry and benthic fishes (adults of small fish species or juveniles), including commercially important Centracanthidae, Sparidae and Mullidae species, and a large number of gobiids. The spread of F. commersonii into shallow coastal habitats and its rapid increase in abundance may potentially have adverse effects on the local fish communities on which it preys. Adults could furthermore compete with native piscivorous species by exploiting local resources faster.
In the Indo-Pacific region, Fistularia commersonii is a species of minor importance in commercial fisheries. In the Mediterranean it is still little appreciated and generally discarded; however, it is increasingly acquiring economic importance in eastern Mediterranean local markets. This is due to the fact that it has white, palatable flesh and no spines, and that consumers have eventually got used to its unusual, elongated, flute-like shape.
Azzurro E. et al., 2012. Fistularia commersonii in the Mediterranean Sea: invasion history and distribution modeling based on presence-only records. Biological Invasions, Oct.
