Two new fish species spotted in shallow water

Two fish species, the Dusky Spinefoot and the tiny Dalmatian Blenny, have been added to the list of fish recorded in Maltese waters.

Small numbers of the Dusky Spinefoot, Siganus luridus, were noted in different occasions at Delimara, feeding on bottom algae a few metres from shore.

Both species were recorded by Mark-Anthony Falzon who has been researching fish in inshore Maltese waters since 1995.

In June last year, a specimen was also spotted at a fishmonger's stall at the Cospicua market.

The Dusky Spinefoot can grow up to about 30 centimetres but the fish seen here so far were between 12 and 15 centimetres. It is oval-shaped, grey-brown on the dorsal side and paler along the belly. Its spines are venomous.

Interestingly, the species is a Lessepsian migrant, which means that it originally entered the Mediterranean from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal. Hence, the name as the canal was constructed by the engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps. The fish was first spotted in the eastern Mediterranean in the early 1960s and has been spreading westwards since. A number of new Lessepsian migrants have been spotted locally in recent years.

The second species is the Dalmatian Blenny, Lipophrys dalmatinus. A small population of the species was found near Marsaxlokk. It is fairly widespread in the Mediterranean and inhabits very shallow water close to shore, ideally with boulders and algae. The Dalmatian Blenny is up to five centimetres in length and the males are very colourful, with a canary yellow underside and white-fringed black bands.

It is a shy species and tends to spend most of its time hiding in small holes in the rock with only its head showing. The location where this population is found is threatened by industrial and aquaculture development. Blennies are known as budakkar or bużullieq in Maltese.