UPDATED CHECKLIST OF THE FISH FAUNA AND CRUSTACEA DECAPODA OF SICILIAN SOUTH-EASTERN SWAMP LAKES PANTANO BRUNO, PANTANO LONGARINI AND PANTANO CUBA (SICILY, ITALY)

The Sicilian south-eastern swamp lakes complex represents an important coastal wetland for the conservation of Mediterranean biodiversity and a breeding area for different species of fish and crustaceans. A first fish fauna checklist of the swamp lake named “Pantano Bruno” (Ispica, Ragusa) and an updated fish fauna checklist of “Pantano Longarini” and “Pantano Cuba” (Pachino, Syracuse) are here reported, as well as the first checklist of the Crustacea Decapoda recorded in all of the three swamp lakes. Four species of teleost fish were found in Pantano Bruno: Anguilla anguilla (Anguillidae), Chelon ramada (Mugilidae), Gambusia holbrooki (Poeciliidae) and Aphanius fasciatus (Cyprinodontidae); two new teleost fish species, in addition to the last published checklist, were found instead in Pantano Longarini and Pantano Cuba: Sardinella aurita (Dorosomatidae) and Solea solea (Soleidae). In addition, five species of Crustacea Decapoda were observed: Palaemon antennarius (Palaemonidae), Palaemon elegans (Palaemonidae), Carcinus aestuarii (Portunidae), these last two species also found in Pantano Bruno, and the invasive species Penaeus aztecus (Penaeidae) and Callinectes sapidus (Portunidae). For all species, estuarine use functional group (EUFG), feeding
mode functional group (FMFG) and Global IUCN RED LIST are also indicated. The new data reported, in addition to updating and enriching faunistic information about inland water environments, confirm the importance of monitoring Sicilian coastal wetlands both as hotspots for biodiversity and for the conservation of aquatic fauna, highlight their usefulness for the detection, control and management of invasive alien species.