Mollusc Fauna of Iskenderun Bay and Checklist of the Region

This study was performed to determine the molluscs distributed in Iskenderun Bay (Levantine Sea). For this purpose, the material collected from the area between the years 2005 and 2009, within the framework of different projects, was investigated. The investigation of the material taken from various biotopes ranging at depths between 0 and 100 m resulted in identification of 286 mollusc species and 27.542 specimens belonging to them. Among the encountered species, Vitreolina cf perminima (Jeffreys, 1883) is new record for the Turkish molluscan fauna and 18 species are being new records for the Turkish Levantine coast. A checklist of Iskenderun mollusc fauna is given based on the present study and the studies carried out beforehand, and a total of 424 moluscan species are known to be distributed in Iskenderun Bay.