A newly documented sighting off the island of Nisyros has confirmed the presence of another non-native marine species in Greek seas: the tropical Yellowbar Angelfish (Pomacanthus maculosus). Spotted and photographed during an organized dive along a rocky shoreline, the discovery adds to a growing list of Lessepsian migrants spreading across the Aegean.
While less destructive than notorious bio-invaders like the toxic pufferfish or the voracious lionfish, the angelfish’s arrival underlines a broader trend: the steady “tropicalization” of the Eastern Mediterranean as warm-water species move through the Suez Canal and establish territory in warming waters.
Yellowbar Angelfish: A Distinctive New Arrival
Pomacanthus maculosus is one of the most recognizable members of the Pomacanthidae family. Reaching up to 50 centimeters in length, adults feature a vivid yellow vertical bar across their flank and metallic blue accents on the head and fins. Juveniles display a strikingly different color pattern—a common trait among angelfish species.
Native to the Red Sea and the western Indian Ocean, the species is benthopelagic, favoring rocky substrates, reefs, and underwater crevices where it feeds on sponges, tunicates, bryozoans, and other benthic invertebrates. In Greek waters, previous and recent records place the fish at depths between 5 and 30 meters.
Dual Drivers: Suez Canal Expansion and Rising Sea Temperatures
The influx of tropical marine life into the Mediterranean is driven by two converging factors: Lessepsian migration via the Suez Canal and the steady rise in sea surface temperatures across the Levantine Basin and Aegean Sea.
Dimitris Pafras, a Ph.D. candidate in Marine Biology and Fisheries Dynamics, highlighted the significance of the Nisyros record:
“The recording of Pomacanthus maculosus off Nisyros is yet another indicator of the dynamic shifts taking place across Eastern Mediterranean marine ecosystems. The gradual establishment of thermophilic [warm-water] species in Greek waters is driven by two parallel processes: Lessepsian migration via the Suez Canal and the impacts of climate change, which are altering the sea’s physicochemical conditions. Every new documented sighting provides crucial scientific data, helping us track species expansion, evaluate ecological changes, and design more effective strategies for managing and protecting marine biodiversity.”
The Growing Role of Recreational Divers in Marine Science
The Nisyros sighting also underscores the increasing reliance on citizen science to monitor marine ecosystems. Local diving centers and recreational divers, through photographic evidence and field reporting, provide researchers with real-time data on shifting species distributions that traditional survey methods might otherwise miss.
As the Mediterranean warms at a rate faster than the global ocean average, each new sighting off the Greek islands offers valuable evidence of how rapidly local marine communities are being reshaped.
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