Abstract

The wahoo Acanthocybium solandri (Cuvier, 1832) is a large epipelagic scombrid with a circumtropical and subtropical distribution, but its occurrence in the Mediterranean Sea has long been considered rare and mostly based on scattered records. This study reports two photographic records from Tunisian waters, representing the first documented evidence of the species from this sector of the central Mediterranean. The first individual was caught off Teboulba in November 2025 with a seine net, and the second was captured off Ben Guerdane in May 2026 with a trammel net. Both records were shared by fishermen through the citizen science Facebook group “TunSea”. No specimens were retained because both individuals were sold immediately; therefore, the identifications were based on photographs showing diagnostic characters, including an elongate fusiform body, cobalt-blue vertical bars, a long-pointed snout, sharp triangular teeth, absence of gill rakers, and the characteristic course of the lateral line. The records add to the increasing number of recent observations from the central and eastern Mediterranean. However, the available evidence remains insufficient to determine the introduction pathway or to infer an established population. Further records supported by precise locality data, morphometric measurements, tissue samples, and genetic analyses are needed to clarify the status and origin of A. solandri in the Mediterranean Sea.

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