An alien fish in Maltese waters

A research paper regarding the first recorded occurrence of the Pacific fish Oplegnathus fasciatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844) in Malta was recently published in the journal Acta Ichthyologica Et Piscatoria.

Oplegnathus fasciatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
Valletta, Malta

photo by John Attard

More information may be found here, while the work in its entirety may be accessed here.

Scales in stone

From the 12th of this December to the 16th of January 2011, Heritage Malta is organizing an exhibition on fossil fish from the Maltese Islands at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Mdina.

Such remains are of high importance, both palaeontologically and historically, being featured in several scientific publications including palaeoecological studies and new taxonomic descriptions. Most are also extremely rare, with fragile bones that do not fossilize easily.

To whet appetites, here's a taster of what the NMNH collection of fossil fish includes:

Stereodon melitensis Owen, 1864

Myliobates sp.

Holocentrum melitense Woodward, 1887

Tourism & Biodiversity

The 27th of September is World Tourism Day. The Malta Tourism Authority is celebrating this year's theme - "Tourism & Biodiversity" - by issuing a set of four stickers which feature typical organisms of the Maltese Islands.

Understandably, the variety of flora and fauna pictured is diverse and includes a plant, two invertebrates, and two vertebrates. These are, respectively:

1. Capparis orientalis Veillard (noted on the sticker under the synonym Capparis spinosa L.);
2. Papilio machaon melitensis Eller, 1936 (an endemic butterfly);
3. Echinaster sepositus sepositus (Retzius, 1783);
4. Epinephelus marginatus (Lowe, 1834) (noted on the sticker under the synonym Epinephelus guaza L., 1758);
5. and the Maltese national bird Monticola solitarius L., 1758.

Please click on image for larger version!

Brocktorff's Maltese fossils

Sir William Reid, Governor of Malta from 1851 to 1858, was a military official and amateur scientist whose interests eventually led him towards a study of meteorology and hurricanes. In a bid to encourage interest in the geology of the Maltese Islands, he published a book containing a few lithographs of fossils commissioned from an artist known only as 'Brocktorff' (Zammit Maempel, 2007).

This book remains very rare in libraries. In addition the well-known echinoids, Brocktorff illustrates remains of crustaceans (a crab), cartilaginous fish (the famous glossopetrae), and bony fish. The following are a some of the illustrated specimens, a few of which are in the National Museum of Natural History, Mdina.

'Schizaster Parkinsoni, Defrance' [*]

'Schizaster Desori, Wright' [**]

'Found at Casal -Luca-Krendi in the Year 1854' [***]

'Found near Casal Luca in the Year 1855'

'Shark's Tooth, with Stony Zoantharia - found near St. Thomas Tower, Malta' [****]

[*] Schizaster parkinsoni (Defrance, 1835)
[**] Schizaster desori Wright, 1855
[***] in contemporary Maltese: Casal Luca = Ħal-Luqa; Krendi = Qrendi
[****] St. Thomas' Tower, Marsaskala

References:

Reid, W., 1857. Maltese fossils lithographed for distribution with the view to encourage further investigation into the geology of the island. Malta: Valletta.
Zammit Maempel, G., 2007. Illustrators and their illustrations of Maltese fossils and Geology. Malta: Publishers' Enterprises Group Ltd.