Zero of Animal Life probably about 300 fathoms

1997; Goren and Galil, 2002). Bathypterois mediter-

raneaus and Nezumia sclerorhynchus were the most

common species, with nearly 38 and 27% of the

specimens respectively. The Myctophidae and

Macrouridae were represented by most species, with

five and four species respectively (Appendix 1).

Three species were identified from the video

records photographed southwest of Cyprus, at 2900

m,  Bathypterois mediterraneus,  Cataetyx laticeps,

and  Chauliodus sloani - none of which had been

photographed previously in the Levantine bathyal.

Decapod crustaceans 

A total of 2819 specimens identified to 19 species

were collected during the study. The Mediterranean

endemic geryonid crab Chaceon mediterraneus was

photographed southwest of Cyprus, at 2900 m. In total,

one species, Levantocaris hornungae, was described as

new to science, five species were new records for the

Levantine Sea and eight species were newly recorded

from the Israeli coast (Galil and Clark, 1993; Galil and

Goren, 1994; Appendix). Polycheles typhlops,

Acanthephyra eximia,  Aristeus antennatus, and

Geryon longipes were the most prevalent and common

species, with nearly 48, 25, 14 and 7% of the speci-

mens respectively.

Amphipod crustaceans 

A total of 673 amphipod specimens identified

to 22 species were collected during the study

(Sorbe and Galil, 2002). Seventeen species con-

stitute new records for the Levantine Sea, and

four were newly recorded from the Israeli coast

(Appendix 1). Four of the 22 deep-sea amphipod

species collected are Mediterranean endemics.

Two of the endemic species were the most fre-

quently collected and the dominant species in the

samples:  Ileraustroe ilergetes and  Pseudotiron

bouvieri  were identified in 38 and 23 of our 44

samples, with 40 and 15% of the specimens

respectively. 

Rhachotropis rostrata

and

Stegophaloides christianiensis were the next most

common species, each with nearly 11% of the

specimens, and 23 and 22 of our samples respec-

tively. 

Cumaceans

A total of 575 specimens identified to 12

species were collected from three trawling cam-

paigns in 1988-99. As the deep-water cumaceans

of the Levantine Sea had not been studied previ-

ously, they all constitute new records (Corbera and

Galil, 2001). Procampylaspis bonnieri was the

most frequently collected and the dominant species

in the samples, with 193 specimens. Campylaspis

glabra was the next most common species, with

nearly 13%, followed by Makrokylindrus longipes,

Platysympus typicus and  Procampylaspis armata,

each with nearly 11% of the specimens. These

species were identified in 22, 19, 18 and 17 of our

27 samples respectively. 

THE BATHYAL FAUNA OF THE LEVANTINE SEA

65

T

ABLE

. 1. – List of cruises: date, location, depth, type of equipment and number of samples (n)

Date 

Location 

Depth (m) 

Agassiz (n) 

Marinovich (n)

Plankton (n)

XI 1988

Hadera

1370-1500

4

I 1989

Haifa

1345-1450

3

V,VI 1989

Atlit

1422-1527

5

X1989

Haifa

1240-1441

5

V 1990

Hadera

1400-1500

5

VI 1990

Atlit

1400-1550

2

V 1991

Hadera

1308-1500

9

5

III 1993

Hadera

1387-1494

4

IV 1993 

Atlit

1435

1

X 1993 

Haifa

1360-1436

4

4

XII 1993

Hadera

1300-1500

4

1

XII 1994

Hadera

1290-1482

8

8

I 1995

Atlit

1000-1561

8

7

X 1995

Hadera

1279-1485

12

8

XI 1995

Haifa

1224-1471

11

9

IX 1996

Atlit

1427-1562

8

6

X,XI 1996

Hadera

1281-1529

16

16

IX 1997

Hadera

1227-1454

9

7

IX 1997

Haifa

1227-1439

8

8

XI 1998

Hadera

1243-1500

14

13

X 1999

Atlit

1413-1557

7

7

X 1999 

Hadera

1260-1485

14

13

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Molluscs

A total of 4580 molluscan specimens identified

to 42 species were collected (Bogi and Galil, 2004).

Four species constitute new records for the eastern

Mediterranean, and 6 are newly recorded from the

Levantine Sea. The most common benthic molluscs

in depths greater than 1000 m off the Israeli coast

are  Yoldia micrometrica, Kelliella abyssicola,

Cardyomia costellata,

Entalina tetragona,

Benthomangelia macra, Benthonella tenella and

Bathyarca pectunculoides present in 83, 77, 76, 63,

59, 50 and 33 out of the 90 samples, with 827, 561,

437, 485, 112, 230 and 64 live specimens respec-

tively. Much of the material examined consisted of

juvenile specimens and empty shells - only 23

species were represented by living specimens, 11 of

which were represented solely by juvenile speci-

mens. 

Echinoderms

Sixteen specimens of a single synallactid

holothurian species, Mesothuria intestinalis, were

collected. 

DISCUSSION

Examination of the results of a total of 167 trawl

hauls from a series of 22 cruises conducted between

1988 and 1999 off the coast of Israel, supplemented

by a photographic survey carried out southwest of

Cyprus, allows us to compare the faunal composi-

tion of the Levantine Sea bathyal with that reported

from the opposite end of the Mediterranean, the

Catalan Sea in the northwestern Mediterranean,

where extensive surveys of the deep water fauna

have resulted in a comprehensive corpus of data

(Abelló and Valladares, 1988; Stefanescu et al.,

1992, 1993; Cartes, 1993; Cartes and Sorbe, 1993,

1997, 1999; Cartes and Sardà, 1993).

Fishes

An extensive survey of the demersal fishes of the

Catalan Sea consisting of 100 samples taken at

depths between 960 and 2251 m collected 31 species

(Stefanescu et al., 1992). Thirteen of the 20 demer-

sal and benthopelagic fish species collected during

the IOLR monitoring surveys are common to both

lists.  Bathypterois mediterraneus is by far the pre-

dominant species in both surveys, but of the next

most common species in the Catalan Sea, the morid

Lepidion lepidion and the macrourid Coryphanoides

guentheri, the former is absent from our samples

and the latter is known from 3 specimens.

Bathypterois mediterraneus was the dominant

species also on the lower slope (1400-1600 m) in the

Algerian basin (Moranta et al., 1998), but of the

next most common species there, Alepocephalus

rostratus

and 

Coelorhynchus labiatus

[=

Caelorinchus mediterraneus] the former is absent

from our samples and the latter is known from 16

specimens. Conversely, of the next most common

species in our survey, Nezumia sclerorhynchus and

Nettastoma melanurum, the former is absent from

the Catalan Sea samples and the latter is known

from 13 specimens. In a survey of the demersal fish

in the Eastern Ionian Sea at depths between 600 and

2600 m, B. mediterraneus,  Mora moro, N. scle-

rorhynchus and N. melanurum were the most com-

mon species at depths greater than 800 m (D’Onghia

et al., 2004), whereas in Heraklion Bay, Crete, at

1000 m Mora moro was by far the most common

species (Kallianiotis et al., 2000). 

Though a photographic survey by a remotely

operated vehicle is limited to the large, non-burrow-

ing, non-evasive organisms, in conjunction with

qualitative data obtained by trawling, it provides a

more complete view of deep-sea megafaunal com-

munities. Among the faunistic explorations of the

Levantine bathyal, only Gilat and Gelman (1984),

and Jones in Priede and Bagley (2000) made use of

photographic equipment to observe the deep fauna

in its environment. Gilat and Gelman employed a

free-fall camera positioned on top of a bait holder,

taking still photographs at 5 minute intervals for 18

hours, at six sites between Israel and Cyprus. The

deepest site, at 1490 m, was located off Cyprus.

Jones used an autonomous unmanned lander plat-

form equipped with cameras and sonars to track

movements of fish attracted to bait in the Cretan sea

(1500-2500 m), Rhodes Basin (2300 - 3850 m), and

Ierapetra Basin (3080-4172 m). Both surveys

utilised bait, thus attracting facultative or obligate

scavengers. Off Cyprus, at 1490 m depth, the sharks

Centrophorus granulosus and  Etmopterus spinax

were the most abundant species, constituting over

83% of the records (Gilat and Gelman, 1984). In the

Cretan Sea (1500-3850 m) and Rhodes Basin (2300

- 3850 m), again sharks (Hexanchus griseus, Galeus

melastomus,  Centrophorus  spp.,  Centroscymnus

coelolepis, and Etmopterus spinax) predominated,

66

B.S. GALIL

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