THE MARINE ICHTHYOFAUNA OF THE EASTERN LEVANT - HISTORY, INVENTORY, AND CHARACTERIZATION

A general study of the marine ichthyofauna of the eastern Levant is pr esented. A historical survey of the ichthyofaunistic literature on the area reveals a constant rate of increase in the number of new recorde d species, resulting from increased collection effort and the continuo us influx of species of Red Sea origin. An annotated list of 30 newly- recorded species and two first substantiated records is given. A check list of eastern Levantine marine ichthyofauna including 405 species wi thin 125 families is presented. A database of eastern Levantine marine ichthyofauna was compiled with respect to local conditions of abundan ce, habitat type, depth, feeding habits, size, and geographic distribu tion. The database allows characterization of species composition with in each of the above categories, in addition to a further breakdown of each category with respect to the other categories.