THE NORTHERNMOST RECORD OF THE THERMOPHILIC MEDITERRANEAN PARROTFISH SPARISOMA CRETENSE (LINNAEUS, 1758) (PERCIFORMES, SCARIDAE) IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA (NORTHWESTERN AEGEAN SEA)

On July 2018 a specimen of the thermophilic fish Sparisoma cretense, commonly known as Mediterranean parrotfish, was captured in the Thermaic Gulf in the northwestern Aegean Sea, Greece, constituting the first such record in the region. The species mainly inhabits the southeastern shores of the Mediterranean, and its presence is in line with previous records of other thermophilic species in the northern Aegean which can be associated with the rise of sea temperatures as one of the signs of climate change. This record is the northernmost in the Eastern Mediterranean and the second northernmost record for the whole Mediterranean basin.