First record of a swarm of Thalia democratica (Chordata: Tunicata) in the Egyptian Mediterranean coast

The current study is the first to document a vast swarm of the pelagic tunicate Thalia democratica inshore of the Egyptian Mediterranean waters. On the May 05, 2021, a swarm of the Salpida T. democratica was discovered inshore of the coast of Stanley. The swarm coincided with a red tide bloom in the research area. The documented species is given a brief redescription with illustrative photographs, taxonomic annotations, habitat notes, and distribution. (c) 2021 National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries. Hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study is the first to document a vast swarm of the pelagic tunicate Thalia democratica inshore of the Egyptian Mediterranean waters. The swarm coincided with a red tide bloom in the research area.