Spanish waters yield first records of rare fish and giant manta

Researchers from the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO‑CSIC) have documented the first occurrence of the small pelagic fish Bregmaceros atlanticus in Spanish waters. Two specimens were captured off El Hierro during a 2012 oceanographic campaign and a third was found stranded on a Tenerife beach in 2024. Morphological analysis combined with COI‑gene sequencing confirmed the identification and suggests the species may be confined to the Atlantic Ocean.

In a separate study, scientists from the universities of Murcia and Oviedo reported Spain’s first live sighting of the giant oceanic manta (Mobula birostris) near Cabo Tiñoso in September 2023, as well as the first record of the black whipray (Taeniurops grabatus) in the Mediterranean. The findings highlight the impact of warming seas on marine species distribution and underline the importance of Spanish coastal waters for deep‑sea biodiversity research.