FIRST RECORD OF PARASQUILLA FERUSSACI (ROUX, 1828) (STOMATOPODA, PARASQUILLIDAE) IN THE ADRIATIC SEA WITH NOTES ON ITS MORPHOLOGY AND MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION

The first record of the little known stomatopod Parasquilla ferussaci (Roux, 1828) in the Adriatic Sea is documented. One specimen was captured near islet Blitvenica in the eastern Adriatic (Croatian coast) on 26 January 2021 with a bottom trawl. This record indicates the extension of the known distributional range of this species in the Mediterranean Sea. Here we also provide the first data on the molecular identification of Parasquilla ferussaci supported by the detailed morphological description of the investigated specimen. Parasquilla is derived as a sister group to Faughnia, which together are sister to the genus Pseudosquillopsis.

Automated summary

This article documents the first record of the little known stomatopod Parasquilla ferussaci in the Adriatic Sea and provides data on its molecular identification and morphological description. The record indicates an extension of the species' known distributional range in the Mediterranean Sea.