Southeastern Turkey)
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ANOMURA OF THE ISKENDERUN BAY REGION (SOUTHEASTERN TURKEY) BY CENGIZ KOÇAK1), TUNCER KATAGAN and TAHIR OZCAN Department of Hydrobiology, Faculty of Fisheries, Ege University, TR-35100 Bornova-Izmir,˙ Turkey INTRODUCTION The present study was conducted to investigate the Anomura of the coasts of Iskenderun Bay. The study area is located in the northeast of the Levantine Basin, and is 65 km in length and 35 km in width, covering an area of approximately 2275 km2. The bay has an average depth of 70 m (Iyiduvar, 1986). There is a euphotic water column and the amount of nutritional substances is 2-4 times higher than in truly offshore areas nearby. There is neither thermal stratification nor significant eutrophication, because of the dynamic structure of the bay (Yılmaz et al., 1992). Since it has a large area of contact with the open sea, it is not affected by either the wind or by deep currents. The bay has a rocky bottom at the southeast and northeast, and there is much seaweed in the northeastern area, while the rest comprises sandy-muddy bottoms. Studies on the anomuran fauna of Iskenderun Bay are few. The first record is by Monod (1931), who reported one species (Galathea nexa Embleton, 1834). Next, Katagan & Cevik (2003), likewise reported one species of Anomura, i.e., Albunea carabus (L., 1758). Until now, only these two Anomura were known from Iskenderun Bay. MATERIALS AND METHODS Specimens of Anomura were collected at six sampling stations: Sta. 1, Karatas; Sta. 2, Yumurtalık; Sta. 3, Dortyol; Sta. 4, Iskenderun; Sta. 5, Arsuz; Sta. 6, Samandagı (fig. 1) from July 2002 to June 2003. A total of 72 surveys were conducted. Samplings were made by trawling and nets on board the R/V “Mustafa 1) Author for correspondence; e-mail: [email protected] © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2005 Crustaceana 78 (2): 247-252 Also available online: www.brill.nl 248 NOTES AND NEWS Fig. 1. Sampling stations in and around Iskenderun Bay, Turkey. Kemal-I”, at depths ranging from 4 to 50 m. The trawl was equipped with an 18 mm mesh size net at the cod-end. A haul lasted about one hour, at a towing speed of 1.5 knots (c. 2.7 km.h−1). Specimens were fixed immediately with formaldehyde 5% and later rinsed with fresh water and preserved in 70% ethyl alcohol. The nomenclature of the species follows ERMS (2004). RESULTS Anomura were captured at two stations of different depths (22-50 m) out of the six stations sampled. In all, 29 specimens belonging to 3 families and 4 species were identified. The family Diogenidae was represented by 2 species, the Paguridae by 1 species, and the Albuneidae by 1 species (see below). Three of these species (Dardanus calidus (Risso, 1827), Paguristes eremita (Linnaeus,.