ABSTRACT
Abstract An updated synthesis is presented for the records of introduced Mollusca in the Mediterranean basin. The rationale for taking molluscan records as significant is discussed. The Mediterranean Sea, with some 1800 native species of Mollusca, currently houses 139 exotic species, of which 85 form established populations, 52 are aliens recorded once or twice, and two are questionable. Ten species (the gastropods Cerithium scabridum, Rhinoclavis kochi, Strombus persicus and Bursatella leachi and the bivalves Pinctada radiata and Brachidontes pharaonis in the eastern Mediterranean, the gastropod Rapana venosa and the bivalves Anadara inaequivalvis, Musculista senhousia, and Xenostrobus securis in the northern Adriatic and the western Mediterranean lagoons) are locally invasive.
