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The American Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae) is Rapidly Expanding Through the Mediterranean Coast of Morocco

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Abstract

Alien species are among the main threats to global biodiversity and are recognized as the second leading cause of extinctions around the world. The invasive American blue crab Callinectes sapidus was recently recorded from Morocco in one single place in the Marchica lagoon. Since its first record, we reported it for the first time from the Moulouya River mouth near the Algerian border and also the mouth of Oued Kert which represents the westernmost record of the species in the Mediterranean at the moment, showing its rapid expansion through the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. Drastic measures are needed to increase monitoring and management of its invasion process.

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Acknowledgements

We cordially thank the editor and reviewers, whose helpful and sincere comments have improved the manuscript and Ahmed Mansour for improving the English.

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  1. Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mehraz, Biotechnology, Conservation and Valorisation of Natural Resources Laboratory, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University , Fez, Morocco

    Abdelkhaleq Fouzi Taybi & Youness Mabrouki

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  1. Abdelkhaleq Fouzi Taybi
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  2. Youness Mabrouki
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Correspondence to Youness Mabrouki.

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Taybi, A.F., Mabrouki, Y. The American Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae) is Rapidly Expanding Through the Mediterranean Coast of Morocco. Thalassas 36, 267–271 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-020-00204-0

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