Report | December 30, 2023

On the presence of the non-indigenous three soft coral Dendronephthya sp. in the Lebanese waters, Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Dendronephthya is a genus of soft corals found in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. It is also common in the northern Red Sea.

In the Mediterranean Sea, Dendronephthya sp. was reported from its southern Levantine Sea for the first time in May 2023. In this context, this note will discuss the first presence of the new Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) soft coral of the genus Dendronephthya in the Lebanese waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea.