06-Psomadakis 568.indd

The chondrichthyan biodiversity in the Gulf of Naples
(SW Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea): An historical overview
by
Peter Nick Psomadakis (1), Nicola Maio (2) & Marino Vacchi (3)
ABSTRACT. - Data on the chondrichthyes occurring in the Gulf of Naples were reviewed by taking into account historical and present literature, as well as specimens preserved in the main naturalistic museums and other scientific institutions.
Monitoring of landings and interviews with fishermen operating in the fishing ports of Ischia, Procida, Pozzuoli and Mergellina, were also carried out. The presence of 53 species of Chondrichthyes (27 sharks, 25 batoids, one chimaera) was
attested in the Gulf of Naples. They represent 76% of the chondrichthyans known in the Italian waters and 63% of Mediterranean species. The rough ray Raja radula is documented for the first time in the study area. Two sharks, Squatina oculata
and Carcharhinus brevipinna, and one skate Raja brachyura were added to the Gulf of Naples ichthyofauna, but need further confirmation. With regards to sawfishes (Pristidae), we found some old museum material and archive data supporting
the presence of a Pristis species in this area.
RÉSUMÉ. - La biodiversité des chondrichtyens dans le golfe de Naples (Italie sud-ouest, mer Tyrrhénienne) : une revue
historique.
Les données sur les chondrichtyens recensés dans le golfe de Naples ont été synthétisées en se fondant sur la littérature
historique et actuelle ainsi que sur les spécimens conservés dans les principaux musées naturalistes et autres institutions
scientifiques. Le suivi des débarquements et des enquêtes menées auprès de pêcheurs âgés des ports d’Ischia, de Procida,
de Pozzuoli et de Mergellina ont été effectués. La présence de 53 espèces de chondrichtyens (27 requins, 25 batoides, une
chimère) a été confirmée dans le golfe de Naples, ce qui représente 76% des chondrichtyens présents dans les eaux italiennes et 63% de ceux de Méditerranée. La raie-râpe Raja radula est signalée pour la première fois dans la zone d’étude. Deux
requins Squatina oculata et Carcharhinus brevipinna et un raie Raja brachyura ont été ajoutées à l’ichtyofaune du golfe de
Naples, mais leur présence nécessite des confirmations ultérieures. Concernant les poissons-scies (Pristidae), nous avons
trouvé quelques anciens spécimens de musée ainsi que des archives qui témoignent de la présence d’une espèce de Pristis
dans cette zone.
Key words. - Chondrichthyes - MED - Tyrrhenian Sea - Gulf of Naples - Biodiversity - Review.
Due to its central position within the Tyrrhenian basin,
great extension of the coastline and variety of marine habitats, the Gulf of Naples represents an interesting site for ichthyological studies. In fact a much celebrated marine station,
the Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn” (SZN), was founded
in the city of Naples during the second half of the 19th century. However in this area, the study of fishes and especially of
chondrichthyans, goes back to the 16th century when pioneering studies and anatomical observations were conducted
by eminent Neapolitan naturalists (Maio et al., 2005). Since
ancient times, cartilaginous fishes have represented in the
Gulf of Naples an important resource for the local population and thus actively collected by means of traditional (Targioni Tozzetti, 1871; Lo Bianco, 1909) and contemporary
(Cannaviello, 1942) fishing methods. Today, some species
that used to be more frequent have become rare (e.g.,
Galeorhinus galeus) and others apparently disappeared from
this area (e.g. Squatina squatina, Heptranchias perlo) as
showed by national (GRUND) and Mediterranean (Medits)
trawl survey programs (Relini et al., 2000; Bertrand et al.,
2000). Due to the lack of specific works dealing with chondrichthyan biodiversity, historical and contemporary literature as well as field investigations and museum collections
were used to compile an updated check-list of sharks, batoids
and chimaeras occurring in the Gulf of Naples. The present
status of some critical species is also discussed on the basis
of field, anecdotal (fishermen interviews) and literature data.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The basic data used for this study was obtained through
extensive literature search including historical treatments of
the subject, previous check-lists and other published docu-
(1) Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Via Casalotti 300, I-00166 Rome, ITALY and Università
Politecnica delle Marche, Department of Marine Science, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, ITALY. [[email protected]]
(2) Museo Zoologico, Centro Museale “Musei delle Scienze Naturali”, Università di Napoli Federico II, Via Mezzocannone 8,
I-80134 Naples, ITALY. [[email protected]]
(3) ISPRA c/o Museo Nazionale dell’Antartide, Università di Genova, Viale Benedetto XV 5, I-16132 Genoa, ITALY.
[[email protected]]
Cybium 2009, 33(3): 199-209.
Chondrichthyes from the Gulf of Naples Psomadakis et al.
mentation, were obtained from interviews with fishermen
carried out in the fishing ports of Ischia, Procida, Pozzuoli
and Mergellina (Fig. 1). A list of chondrichthyan species
(Tabs I, II) was obtained during repeated annual monitoring
in the above-mentioned fishing ports starting from June
2002. For chondrichthyan taxonomy and nomenclature we
followed Serena (2005), while for Italian common names
Notarbartolo di Sciara and Bianchi (1998). Vernacular names
were based on Palombi and Santarelli (1986) and also on
indications given by local fishermen.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figure 1. - Map of the Gulf of Naples showing the investigated sites
(*).
ments of limited distribution. Museological fish collections
as well as old journalistic documentation were also examined. Additional data, accompanied by photographic docu-
Historical notes
The oldest information regarding chondrichthyan fishes
in the Gulf of Naples can be found in some manuscripts of
the 16 th century ascribed to F. Imperato and F. Colonna
(Maio et al., 2005). In particular F. Colonna is the author of
early descriptions (pre-Linnaean) of some elasmobranch
Table I. - Sharks recorded during our field activity. a = monitoring of landings; b = on board fishing vessel; c = photographic documentation.
Scientific name
HEXANCHIDAE
Hexanchus griseus (Bonnaterre, 1788)
SQUALIDAE
Squalus acanthias Linnaeus, 1758
CENTROPHORIDAE
Centrophorus granulosus (Bloch &
Schneider, 1801)
ETMOPTERIDAE
Etmopterus spinax (Linnaeus, 1758)
OXYNOTIDAE
Oxynotus centrina (Linnaeus, 1758)
DALATIIDAE
Dalatias licha (Bonnaterre, 1788)
ALOPIDAE
Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788)
CETORHINIDAE
Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765)
LAMNIDAE
Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810
SCYLIORHINIDAE
Galeus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810
Scyliorhinus canicula (Linnaeus, 1758)
Scyliorhinus stellaris (Linnaeus, 1758)
CARCHARHINIDAE
Carcharhinus spp.
Prionace glauca (Linnaeus, 1758)
200
Number of
specimens
Gear
Site
Means of
sampling
4
Trawl, long-line
Ischia
a
7
Long-line, trawl
Ischia
a, b
2
Trawl
Mergellina
a, b
many
Trawl
Mergellina
b
2
Trawl, gill-net
Procida, Ischia
a
2
Trawl
Procida,
Mergellina
a
2
Trawl, trammel-net
Ischia, Procida
a, c
3
Trammel-net
Ischia
c
2
Long-line
Ischia
a, c
many
5
5
1
2
Trawl
Mergellina, Ischia
Trawl, trammel-net
Ischia
Trammel-net
Ischia, Procida
Hook & line
Long-line
Ischia
Ischia
a
a
a
c
a, c
Cybium 2009, 33(3)
Psomadakis et al.
Chondrichthyes from the Gulf of Naples
Table II. - Batoids recorded during our field activity. a = monitoring of landings; b = on board fishing vessel; c = photographic documentation; d = underwater video-recording; e = boat sighting.
Scientific name
Number of specimens
Gear
Site
Means of
sampling
15
Trawl
Ischia, Pozzuoli
a
Trawl
Pozzuoli, Procida
a
Ischia, Pozzuoli
a
TORPEDINIDAE
Torpedo (Torpedo) marmorata Risso, 1810
Torpedo (Torpedo) torpedo (Linnaeus, 1758)
8
RAJIDAE
Dipturus oxyrynchus (Linnaeus, 1758)
2
Raja asterias Delaroche, 1809
3
Raja miraletus Linnaeus, 1758
6
Raja clavata Linnaeus, 1758
DASYATIDAE
Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758)
Pteroplatytrygon violacea (Bonaparte, 1832)
MYLIOBATIDAE
Myliobatis aquila (Linnaeus, 1758)
Pteromylaeus bovinus (Geoffroy St-Hilaire,
1817)
MOBULIDAE
Trawl
Ischia
Pozzuoli
6
Trawl
Trawl
Ischia, Mergellina
1
Trammel-net
Pozzuoli
1
6-7
Mobula mobular (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Trawl
4
1
Long-line
Trawl,
trammel-net
a
a
a
a
Ischia
b
Capo Miseno (Pozzuoli)
c, d
Pozzuoli, Ischia
a
Ischia
a, e
Figure 2. - Carcharodon carcharias
captured in a tuna trap at Procida in
1920.
fishes as is the case of Rhinobatos rhinobatos, Dasyatis centroura and Gymnura altavela. Some remarkable data regarding cartilaginous fishes can be found in Costa’s (1857) 4
4
Part III of Costa’s “Fauna del Regno di Napoli” refers to
cartilaginous fishes and was published during the years interval:
1852-1857; the entire monograph, which includes bony fishes
and other animal taxa, was published between 1829-1857.
Following the editorial rules we chose to use only the last year of
publication.
Cybium 2009, 33(3)
monograph “Fauna del Regno di Napoli”, which included
seven cartilaginous fish species. Although, the “Regno di
Napoli” covered a much more extended area than the Gulf of
Naples, including all the present south of Italy, the author
makes direct or indirect reference to the Gulf of Naples with
regards to the chondrichthyans cited within the text. A more
complete list of fishes from the Gulf of Naples is given by
Costa (1871), who mentions 25 species of chondrichthyans
(13 sharks and 12 batoids). The same list of cartilaginous
fishes is also published by Targioni Tozzetti (1871), but in
201
Chondrichthyes from the Gulf of Naples appendix the lessepsian shark Carcharhinus melanopterus is
added to the list. Lo Bianco (1909) provides biological and
systematic data on fishes, including 31 chondrichthyans (18
sharks, 13 batoids and one chimaera). The last extensive faunistic list of fishes from the Gulf of Naples can be found in
the fishery report of Cannaviello (1942) who enlists 39 cartilaginous fishes (22 sharks and 17 batoids). Data obtained
from GRUND (Relini et al., 2000) and Medits (Bertrand et
al., 2000) were only in part useful for the purpose of this
compilation due to the extended geographical scale of investigated areas. However, the absence of some critical taxa
(e.g. Heptranchias perlo, Galeorhinus galeus, Squatina
spp.) from geographical sectors encompassing the Gulf of
Naples, resulted useful in supporting our field observations.
Sharks
Among the data presented in this paper is the picture
(Fig. 2) of the only documented capture of great white shark
Carcharodon carcharias in the Gulf of Naples. This extraordinary event dates back to 1924, when a large individual
reported to measure ca 600 cm in length and 1200 kg in
weight was captured in a tuna trap (“tonnara”) at Procida
(Anonymous, 1924). The large size leaves no doubt on the
correct identification of the shark in the photo. Furthermore,
C. carcharias is the only lamnid regularly taken as by-catch
within tuna traps. In the studied area, the species is potentially confused with other two sympatric lamnids Isurus
oxyrinchus and Lamna nasus. However, the shortfin mako
I. oxyrinchus is the only lamnid still fished in the area (see
Tab. I) and the species is probably involved in aggressive
interactions with the swordfish Xiphias gladius as recalled
by elder fishermen from Ischia and as reported by Bozhkov
(1975).
Also the basking shark Cetorhinus maximus superficially
resembles the great white shark, however this species is
promptly distinguished by local fishermen who refer to it
under different vernacular names (see Tab. III). A juvenile of
this species captured off Capri was the object of a basking
shark description made by the Neapolitan professor Macrì in
1819 under the name of Squalus rostratus. Photographic evidence of unpublished records of C. maximus were collected
during our investigations as is the case of one male specimen
from Forio (Ischia) captured by a trammel net in 1958
(Fig. 3) and indicate that this species is occasionally present
in the Gulf of Naples.
Another report is that of a large hexanchid (over 300 cm
TL) possessing seven gill slits and described by Tenore in
1810 as a new species under the name of Squalus platycephalus. This species was included by Costa (1857) 5 in his
5
This author erroneously mentions the Gulf of Salerno as locality
of capture and so does Tortonese (1952, 1956) afterwards.
202
Psomadakis et al.
“Fauna del Regno di Napoli”, but the author affirms that he
was unable to assess if Tenore hexanchid was actually distinct from Squalus griseus (= Hexanchus griseus). Although
some authors (Garman, 1913; Fowler, 1941; Bigelow and
Schroeder, 1948) synonymized S. platycephalus with the
“extra-Mediterranean” broadnose seven-gill shark Notorhynchus cepedianus, we considered it as a misidentification
either with the bluntnose six-gill shark Hexanchus griseus or
with the sharpnose seven-gill shark Heptranchias perlo as
already remarked by Tortonese (1952, 1956). This conclusion in supported by the fact that Tenore description is based
on a badly conserved specimen (no type material available)
and that no further individuals with morphological characters corresponding to S. platycephalus were afterwards
found.
The sharpnose seven-gill shark H. perlo and the angel
shark Squatina squatina used to be quite common in the Italian seas (Tortonese, 1956) and in the past represented an
important resource for artisanal local fishery (Costa, 1857;
Lo Bianco, 1909; Cannaviello, 1942, Cognetti and Santarelli, 1960). In the opinion of interviewed fishermen no catches
have occurred since the early 1980s and, both of these species appear locally extinct in accordance with catch data
either from GRUND (Relini et al., 2000) or Medits (Bertrand et al., 2000). Lo Bianco (1909) and Cannaviello (1942)
mention two species of angel sharks in the study area: Squatina laevis (= S. squatina) and Squatina fimbriata. Although
some authors (Lozano Rey, 1928; Norman, 1935) synonymized S. fimbriata with the sawback angel shark Squatina
aculeata, its exact recognition cannot be precisely assessed
due to the taxonomic confusions made on Mediterranean
angel sharks during the 19th and 20th centuries (Tortonese,
1956). Anyway, Tortonese (1956) and Bini (1967) assimilate
Lo Bianco record of S. fimbriata to S. oculata, a species that
occurs throughout the Tyrrhenian Sea where S. aculeata still
remains unreported (Vacchi and Serena, 2006).
During to about the first half of the 20th century, other
species like the tope shark Galeorhinus galeus and some
members of Mustelus and Squalus genera used to be common resources for many Tyrrhenian based fisheries
(D’Ancona and Razzauti, 1937; Vacchi and Notarbartolo di
Sciara, 2000; Vacchi et al., 2002). This is also true for Ischia
and Procida as recalled by local fishermen interviewed during this study. Besides few individuals of S. acanthias landed
at Ischia (see Tab. I) none of the above mentioned shark taxa
were recorded during our field investigations.
The bramble shark Echinorhinus brucus is rare in the
Gulf of Naples having on record only two reports (Costa,
1857; Lo Bianco, 1909). During our field investigations,
pictures of the species were readily recognized by retired
bottom longliner fishermen from Ischia who referred to it
with the vernacular name of “fico d’India” (Italian name for
the prickly pear). On the contrary, the species was comCybium 2009, 33(3)
Psomadakis et al.
Chondrichthyes from the Gulf of Naples
Table III. - Check-list of sharks documented for the Gulf of Naples. The question mark (?) in front of the scientific name means that confirmation is needed. a = Macrì (1819); b = Costa (1857); c = Costa (1871); d = Targioni Tozzetti (1871); e = Lo Bianco (1909); f = Cannaviello (1942); g = Tortonese (1956); h = systematic collections SZN; i = systematic collections MZN; k = giornalistic article.
Scientific name
Common name
Italian name
Vernacular name
Source
Bluntnose six-gill
shark
Sharpnose sevengill shark
Notidano grigio
Cannulicchiaro, capochiatto
b, c, d, f, i
Notidano cinereo
Pesce angiò
b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i
Bramble shark
Echinorino
Fico rinnia
b, e, g
Spotted spiny
dogfish
Longnose spurdog
Spinarolo
c, d, e, f, g, h
Spinarolo bruno
Pesce ferraro, ferraro ’e
funnale
pesce ferraro
Gulper shark
Centroforo
Cacavuòglio, spinaruòlo
e, f, g, h
Little gulper shark
Centroforo
boccanera
Cacavuòglio, spinaruòlo
f
Velvet belly
Moretto
Pesce riavolo, riavolo ’e notte
e, f, g, h
Oxynotus centrina (Linnaeus, 1758) Angular rough shark
Pesce porco
Pesce puorco, pesce sorece
c, d, e, f, g
Dalatias licha (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Kitefin shark
Scimnorino
Zegrine
e, f, g, h
(?) Squatina oculata Bonaparte,
1840
Squatina squatina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Smoothback angel
shark
Angel shark
Squadro pelle
rossa
Squadro
Squatre ’e funnale
e, f, g
Squatre d’arena
c, d, e, f, g, h
Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Thresher shark
Squalo volpe
Pesce pavone, pesce bannèra
c, d, f
Basking shark
Cetorino
Pesce elefante, chicchi-ri-chì
(Ischia)
a, g
Great white shark
Squalo bianco
Sbriglio
k
Shortfin mako
Mako
Sbriglio
f
HEXANCHIDAE
Hexanchus griseus (Bonnaterre,
1788)
Heptranchias perlo (Bonnaterre,
1788)
ECHINORHINIDAE
Echinorhinus brucus (Bonnaterre,
1788)
SQUALIDAE
Squalus acanthias Linnaeus, 1758
Squalus blainvillei (Risso, 1826)
CENTROPHORIDAE
Centrophorus granulosus (Bloch &
Schneider, 1801)
Centrophorus uyato (Rafinesque,
1810)
ETMOPTERIDAE
Etmopterus spinax (Linnaeus, 1758)
OXYNOTIDAE
DALATIIDAE
SQUATINIDAE
ALOPIDAE
CETORHINIDAE
Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus,
1765)
LAMNIDAE
Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus,
1758)
Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810
Lamna nasus (Bonnaterre, 1788)
SCYLIORHINIDAE
Galeus melastomus Rafinesque,
1810
Scyliorhinus canicula (Linnaeus,
1758)
Scyliorhinus stellaris (Linnaeus,
1758)
TRIAKIDAE
Galeorhinus galeus (Linnaeus,
1758)
Cybium 2009, 33(3)
e, g
Porbeagle
Smeriglio
Sbriglio
c, d, f
Blackmouth
catshark
Small-spotted cat
shark
Nursehound
Gattuccio
boccanera
Gattuccio
Pesce ’mpisu, pezze vecchie
(Ischia)
Cacciuttiello
e, f, g
c, d, e, f, g, h, i
Gattopardo
Sgatto, sgattolo
c, d, e, f, g, h
Tope shark
Galeo
Canuso, canesca
c, d, e, f, g, h
203
Chondrichthyes from the Gulf of Naples Psomadakis et al.
Table III. - Continued.
Scientific name
Common name
Italian name
Vernacular name
Source
Mustelus asterias Cloquet, 1821
Starry smoothhound
Palombo stellato
Palummo stilliato
Palummo verace
e, f
c, d, e, f, g, h, i
Mustelus mustelus (Linnaeus, 1758)
CARCHARHINIDAE
Smoothhound
Palombo liscio
(?)Carcharhinus brevipinna (Müller
and Henle, 1839)
Carcharhinus plumbeus (Nardo,
1827)
Prionace glauca (Linnaeus, 1758)
Spinner shark
Squalo pinnacorta
Carcaria melanottera
d
Sandbar shark
Squalo grigio
Damiano, mangia alice
e, f, g
Blue shark
Verdesca
Canesca, verdarola
c, d, e, f, g
Sphyrna (Sphyrna) zygaena
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Smooth
hammerhead
Squalo martello
comune
Magnosa, cape ‘e chiouve,
pesce carabiniere
c, d, f, g, i
SPHYRNIDAE
Figure 3. - Cetorhinus maximus captured by trammel net at Forio (Ischia)
in 1958. Picture used with kind permission of Museo Etnografico del Mare
dell’Isola d’Ischia.
pletely unknown to fishermen in activity within the study
area.
Some obsolete nomenclature, namely Carcharias lamia
and Carcharhinus Commersoni cited in Lo Bianco (1909)
and Cannaviello (1942) respectively, cannot be synonymized
with any extant Mediterranean shark species (Tortonese,
1956). However, Saϊdi et al. (2005) link the shark cited in Lo
Bianco (1909) to the sandbar shark Carcharhinus plumbeus.
This conclusion is supported by some reproductive parameters reported in Lo Bianco work which are in agreement with
those indicated by Garrick (1982) and Compagno (1984) for
this species. Besides Tortonese (1956) citation of a young
female from Naples held at SZN (presently missing from the
zoological collections), we found original photographic documentation of a Carcharhinus captured at Ischia (Fig. 4)
whose specific identity could not be ascertain. However, there
204
are good chances that the shark in the photo is C. plumbeus.
Among a list of sharks occurring in the Gulf of Naples,
Targioni Tozzetti (1871) includes Charcharias melanopterus
(probably misspelled from Carcharias melanopterus) which
represents the old name of the blacktip reef shark Carcharhinus melanopterus who’s presence in the Mediterranean, as
lessepsian immigrant, is still matter of debate (Garrick,
1982; Fergusson and Compagno, 2000). Due to the strong
resemblance with other black-tipped carcharhinids sympatrycally occurring in the Mediterranean, it seems more probable that the shark enlisted by Targioni Tozzetti (1871) is the
result of misidentifications either with the blacktip shark
Carharhinus limbatus or with the spinner shark Carcharhinus brevipinna, both unquestionably documented in the
Mediterranean Sea (Tortonese, 1985; Capapé et al., 2004).
Since C. limbatus is considered doubtful for the Italian seas
Cybium 2009, 33(3)
Psomadakis et al.
Chondrichthyes from the Gulf of Naples
Table IV. - Check-list of batoids and chimaeras documented for the Gulf of Naples. The question mark (?) in front the scientific name
means that confirmation is needed. a = Costa (1857); b = Costa (1871); c = Targioni Tozzetti (1871); d = Lo Bianco (1909); e = Clark
(1926); f = Cannaviello (1942); g = Tortonese (1956); h = systematic collections SZN; i = systematic collections MZN.
Scientific name
PRISTIDAE
(?) Pristis microdon Latham, 1794
RHINOBATIDAE
Rhinobatos (Glaucostegus) cemiculus Geoffroi
St-Hilaire, 1817
Rhinobatos (Rhinobatos) rhinobatos (Linnaeus,
1758)
TORPEDINIDAE
Torpedo (Tetronarce) nobiliana Bonaparte, 1835
Torpedo (Torpedo) mormorata Risso, 1810
Torpedo (Torpedo) torpedo (Linnaeus, 1758)
RAJIDAE
Dipturus batis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Dipturus oxyrinchus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name
Italian name
Greattooth
sawfish
Blackchin
guitarfish
Common
guitarfish
Pesce chitarra
Electric ray
Torpedine nera
Marbled
electric ray
Common
torpedo
Skate
Pesce violino
Torpedine
marmorata
Torpedine
ocellata
Razza bavosa
Vernacular name
Source
Ferogna
a
Squatre viulino, cetola, squatta,
manduline
Squatre viulino, cetola, squatta,
manduline
f
Tremmula
a, f, g, i
b, c, f
Tremmula marmulina,
b, c, d, f, g,
tremmula janca
h
Tremmula oucchiuta, tremmula b, c, d, f, g
cu l’uocchio
Raja liscia, raja ’e fango
b, c, f, i
Longnose skate
Razza monaca
Raja monaca, raja vavosa
Leucoraja circularis (Couch, 1838)
Sandy ray
Razza rotonda
None
b, c, d, f, g,
h
e
(?) Raja brachyura Lafont, 1873
Blonde ray
Razza coda corta
None
d
Raja miraletus Linnaeus, 1758
Brown ray
Raja montagui Fowler, 1910
Spotted ray
Raja asterias Delaroche, 1809
Raja clavata Linnaeus, 1758
Raja polystigma Regan, 1923
Raja radula Delaroche, 1809
Raja undulata Lacépède, 1802
Rostroraja alba Lacépède, 1803
DASYATIDAE
Dasyatis centroura (Mitchill, 1815)
Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758)
Pteroplatytrygon violacea (Bonaparte, 1832)
GYMNURIDAE
Gymnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758)
MYLIOBATIDAE
Myliobatis aquila (Linnaeus, 1758)
Pteromylaeus bovinus (Geoffroy St- Hilaire,
1817)
Cybium 2009, 33(3)
Starry ray
Thornback ray
Speckled ray
Rough ray
Razza stellata
Raja d’arena
Razza chiodata
Raja petrosa
Razza
quattrocchi
Razza maculata
Raja occhialuta
b, c, d, e, f,
i
b, c, e
None
d
None
h
Razza
polistimma
Razza scuffina
None
e
Undulate ray
Razza ondulata
Razza bianca
Rascietta
b, c, f
Roughtail
stingray
Common
stingray
Violet stingray
Trigòne spinoso
Mugghie spinuse
f
Trigòne comune
Mugghie janche, pastenaca
Trigòne pelagico
Mugghie nire
b, c, d, f, g,
h
b, c, d, f, g,
h, i
Spiny butterfly
ray
Altavela
Attavela, tavela
(see text)
Common eagle
ray
Bull ray
Aquila di mare
Mugghie caputo, aquilone
b, c, d, f, h
Vaccarella
Vaccariello
d, f
White skate
None
d, e, g,
d
205
Chondrichthyes from the Gulf of Naples Psomadakis et al.
Table IV. - Continued.
Scientific name
Common name
Italian name
Vernacular name
Source
Mobula mobular (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Devil ray
Mòbula
Mugghie-vacca, vacca ‘e mare
b, c, f
Chimaera monstrosa Linnaeus, 1758
Rabbitfish
Chimèra
Pesce sorice, gatta ‘e mare,
pesce coniglio
a, d
MOBULIDAE
CHIMAERIDAE
Figure 4. - Carcharhinus spp. captured
by hook and line at Ischia in 1955. Picture used with kind permission of
Museo Etnografico del Mare dell’Isola
d’Ischia.
(Vacchi and Serena, 2006) we can prudently identify the
shark in question with C. brevipinna, a species included in
the southern Tyrrhenian Sea by the latter authors. In addition
one old stuffed specimen of C. brevipinna erroneously
labeled as Mustelus mustelus was found within the Zoological Museum of Naples (MZN). Although lacking catalogue
number, it is highly probable that this specimen was taken
from the Gulf of Naples in 1865 as already remarked by
Maio et al. (2005).
Batoids
Among the rajiforms, Lo Bianco (1909) mentions a large
female skate (85 cm TL) under the name of Raja asterias6,
which he considers extremely rare. According to the author,
one living specimen belonging to this species was kept in
captivity at SZN Aquarium where detailed observations on
shape, dimension and colour of egg-cases laid were made.
Given the body size of the specimen, period of spawning and
egg-cases shape and size (exceeding 10 cm of length, horns
excluded), we identify this species as the blonde ray Raja
6
The actual starry ray Raja asterias Delaroche, 1809 is mentioned
in the same work as Raja punctata.
206
brachyura, species not yet documented for the Gulf of
Naples. This conclusion is supported by the inclusion of
R. brachyura among the list of species captured by national
trawl surveys in the central-southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Spedicato et al., 2003).
The rough ray R. radula has scattered distribution in the
Italian seas (Tortonese, 1956) with captures concentrated in
Sardinia and along the southern coasts of Sicily (Relini et
al., 2000; Bertrand et al., 2000). A liquid-preserved specimen of this species was found among the systematic collections of SZN, labeled Pozzuoli fish market, 25-10-1965.
Since no documented occurrences of R. radula exist for the
Gulf of Naples, the above museum specimen represents the
first documented record of this species in the study area.
Some large deep-water rajid species like Rostroraja alba,
Dipturus batis and Dipturus oxyrinchus used to be occasionally caught in the Gulf of Naples (Cannaviello, 1942). At
present, only the longnosed skate D. oxyrinchus still occurs
in the study area (Tab. II). The status of the two other deepwater rajids appears critical, especially for the white skate
R. alba, which is completely absent from the catches of trawl
surveys conducted in the central and southern sectors of the
Tyrrhenian Sea (Relini et al., 2000; Bertrand et al., 2000).
Cybium 2009, 33(3)
Psomadakis et al.
Of the rajid species included in the Tyrrhenian Sea by
Fischer et al. (1987), only the shagreen ray Leucoraja fullonica and the cuckoo ray Leucoraja naevus could not be
documented in the study area. In accordance with our data,
both of these species were not found either by GRUND
(Relini et al., 2000) or Medits (Bertrand et al., 2000) trawl
surveys conducted in the central-southern Tyrrhenian Sea.
None of the works and faunistic lists furnished by authors
of the 19th and 20th century mention the spiny butterfly ray
Gymnura altavela in the Gulf of Naples. However, early
descriptions of the species (pre-Linnaean) were given by the
Neapolitan naturalist Fabio Colonna, who undoubtedly illustrates this species as “Pastinaca marina altera pteryplatea
altavela Neapoli dicta” (Colonna, 1616). On these bases,
Bonaparte (1835) includes Naples within the species’ geographical distribution and points out that its local name is
“altavela”. At present, G. altavela is extremely rare in the
Italian seas (Tortonese, 1956) and besides one individual
recently trawled along the Latium coast, no occurrences of
the species have been reported in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Psomadakis et al., 2006).
None of the interviewed fishermen recognized pictures
of rhinobatid species. However, up to the 1940s, these fishes
used to be occasionally caught in the study area (Costa,
1857; Giglioli, 1880; Cannaviello, 1942). In fact, some dated
(19th century) specimens of Rhinobatos (Rhinobatos) rhinobatos from the Gulf of Naples can be found at MZN (present
contribution) and in other Italian museum collections (Vanni,
1992). As demonstrated by recent trawl surveys (Relini et
al., 2000; Bertrand et al., 2000), these fishes have been completely extirpated, not only from the study area, but also
from Sicily where the species used to be more frequently
landed (Doderlein, 1884).
Finally we found some data supporting the presence of
Pristis, species whose presence in the Mediterranean is at
present much debated (Tortonese, 1985; Fischer et al., 1987;
Serena, 2005). During our investigations within MZN collections and registers we found old data (original handwritten catalogue) attesting the acquisition in 1867 of a stuffed
specimen of Pristis antiquorum coming from the Gulf of
Naples. In addition, a dated stuffed specimen labeled as
P. antiquorum (without catalogue number) was also found
among the museums’ not exposed collections. This specimen
perfectly corresponds (rostral teeth, morphometrics and
other evidences) to the juvenile sawfish depicted by Costa
(1857) in the “Fauna del Regno di Napoli” under the name
of P. antiquorum and can be prudently assimilated to the
stuffed specimen bought by MZN in 1867. Tortonese (1956)
and Bini (1967) recognized the sawfish reported in Costa’s
monograph as the greattooth sawfish Pristis microdon, a species that they consider circumtropical and identical to the
largetooth sawfish Pristis perotteti. Due to taxonomic confusion within the genus Pristis, there is still much uncertainty
Cybium 2009, 33(3)
Chondrichthyes from the Gulf of Naples
as regards to the number of valid species that actually exist
(Compagno and Cook, 2005), and at present, keys available
in literature do not allow to clearly distinguish P. microdon
from P. perotteti. However, the data herein presented provides new information regarding Costa (1857) report of
P. antiquorum, which represents one of the few detailed
accounts of sawfish records in the Mediterranean Sea.
CONCLUSIONS
According to our investigations 53 chondrichthyans (27
sharks, 25 batoids and one chimaera) can be included in the
checklist. Of these, two shark species, S. oculata and C. brevipinna, were provisionally comprised in the list but need
confirmation. Among batoids, R. radula was firstly documented for the study area and R. brachyura prudently included in the checklist on the basis of reviewed literature data.
Regarding Pristidae, new information deriving from museum collections and archive data supporting Costa (1857)
report of a Pristis species in the Gulf of Naples were found.
Monitoring of landings in different fishing ports of the study
area and some underwater video recording confirmed the
presence of various elasmobranch species (Tabs I, II). In
addition, interviews with retired fishermen allowed us to
appraise chondrichthyan biodiversity changes within the
study area.
Comparing our data with other checklists (Serena, 2005;
Vacchi and Serena, 2006), the 53 species of chondrichthyes
documented for the Gulf of Naples represent 76% of cartilaginous fishes occurring in the Italian seas and 63% of those
present in the whole Mediterranean. This high chondrichthyan biodiversity may be correlated to the overall faunistic
richness and diversity of marine coastal habitats present in
the study area (Ranzi, 1930). This author enumerates 14
major shoals scattered within the Gulf of Naples including
some positioned offshore like “Bocca Grande” emerging
from depths of more than 700 meters and reaching up to 130
meters from the surface. These environments encourage the
establishment of complex well structured communities
known for attracting large open water predators as many cartilaginous fishes. According to Targioni Tozzetti (1871),
large predatory sharks used to be particularly abundant in
this area, especially throughout the insular channels of the
gulf. Up to the 1940s, chondrichthyan fishes represented a
habitual resource for local fishermen; some of them having
resident populations (littoral benthonic species), others
occurring periodically on a seasonal basis as large open
water species (Cannaviello, 1942). Unfortunately, this
remarkable bonanza of cartilaginous fishes in this area has
been severely depleted either in terms of biodiversity or in
terms of abundance. At present, many species are suffering
declining populations and some have apparently disappeared
207
Chondrichthyes from the Gulf of Naples from the area. The critical status of many chondrichthyan
species may be principally attributable to the increasing use
of aggressive fishing practices such as drift-net fishery and
bottom trawling. However, the impact of urbanization
growth especially on shallow coastal water species cannot
be discounted. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the
critical importance of museum archive data and systematic
collections to support biodiversity research.
Acknowledgments. - We wish to thank the following fishermen:
F. & F.P. Ferrandino, M. De Luca, C. Di Scala, B. Pascale (all from
Ischia), M. Mammalella (Procida), A. Chiocca (Pozzuoli) and
A. Garofalo (Mergellina) for sharing with us their long term sea
going memories and expertise. L. Di Meglio (Museo Etnografico
del Mare d’Ischia) is acknowledged for allowing us to use original
photographic material. We are especially indebted with Dr. A.
Travaglini (SZN) and staff members of SZN Library for their help
and with Prof. P. Ariani (MZN) and Dr. F. Bentivegna (SZN) for
making available the systematic collections under their authority.
Dr. F. Finelli (SSI diving center Baia) is acknowledged for providing underwater video-recording and Dr. A. Petraccioli (Napoli) for
the French translation of the abstract. A special thanks goes to
Guido (Pescheria “Il Branco”, Ischia), Dr. G. Palma (Director of
Pozzuoli fish market) and Dr. M. Giustino (Naples) for their kind
collaboration. Finally we wish to dedicate this article to the memory of Aldo Guida (SZN Library) who assisted us with friendship
and professionalism.
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