Russian scientists have discovered more than 25 new living organisms in the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov over the past 15 years.
The organisms had either never been recorded in the region before or had previously been observed only in isolated areas, the regional news outlet Kubanskiye Novosti reported. The publication cited Alexey Abramchuk, head of the Department of Aquatic Bioresources and Aquaculture at Kuban State University.
Abramchuk said fellow researchers documented the appearance of more than 25 previously unrecorded species across the Azov and Black Sea basin during the 15-year period. According to the scientist, the newcomers fall into two distinct groups: organisms introduced by humans and species that entered accidentally from other parts of the global ocean.
Kuban State University is a major public research institution based in Krasnodar, a southern Russian city located near both the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The two seas are linked by the narrow Kerch Strait, while the Black Sea connects to the Mediterranean Sea and the wider Atlantic through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles.
New fish species in the Black and Azov seas
Among the species introduced by humans is the so-iuy mullet, known in Russia as the pelengas. Abramchuk noted that this member of the mullet family has adapted well to the conditions of the Azov and Black Sea basin and has even surpassed its relatives in the Far East in biological indicators.
The so-iuy mullet is a coastal ray-finned fish native to the northwestern Pacific Ocean, including the Sea of Japan. Like other members of the mullet family, it inhabits shallow coastal waters and estuaries and is widely harvested as a food fish.
Several other marine species crossed into the basin on their own and established populations in the two seas. According to Abramchuk, these self-migrating fish include round sardinellas, dorado, golden seabream, the small-headed clingfish, the green blenny, and the common pipefish.
Scientists also recorded multiple types of gobies that settled in the waters without human intervention. These include the golden-headed goby, Steinitz's goby, and the red-mouthed goby, alongside two chromogobius species: the four-striped goby and the zebra goby.
Gobies, blennies, and clingfish are small bottom-dwelling fish typically found along rocky coastlines, reefs, and seagrass beds, while pipefish are slender, elongated relatives of seahorses.
Rare parasitic mushroom discovered in Krasnoyarsk Krai
The marine report follows another biological record in Russia. Earlier, specialists in Krasnoyarsk Krai discovered the rare parasitic mushroom Volvariella surrecta for the first time in the region.
Researchers found the species in the Perovsky cluster of the park, marking the first documented evidence of its presence anywhere in Siberia. Krasnoyarsk Krai is a vast territory in central Siberia, and Volvariella surrecta is an unusual fungus known for growing directly on the fruiting bodies of other mushrooms.
