Confirmation of the presence of the bigeye thresher Alopias superciliosus in the Tyrrhenian Sea, with first parasitological notes for the Mediterranean Sea

The paper confirms the presence of Alopias superciliosus in the Tyrrhenian Sea, giving useful information for a species assessed as "vulnerable" worldwide and "data deficient" for the Mediterranean Sea by IUCN. In the stomach of this shark, 25 specimens of Pseudophyllidea, 4 of Trypanorhyncha and 3 of Anisakis spp. were found. In the gut, the presence of 20 specimens of Lilobolhrium spp. was observed. Since this is the first evidence of the presence of the genus Lilobolhrium in the Mediterranean Sea. the paper demonstrates a range expansion of this parasite from the Pacific.