First documented record of the smalleye squaretail, Tetragonurus cuvieri (Actinopterygii, Scombriformes, Tetragonuridae), in the Adriatic Sea

A specimen of the smalleye squaretail, Tetragonurus cuvieri Risso, 1810, was caught on 16 February 2024 (TL = 37.2 cm, W = 277.56 g) by trawl net at approximately 100 m depth in the Mljet Channel, between the islands of Lopud and Šipan (Croatian coast). This represents the first well-documented record of T. cuvieri in the whole Adriatic Sea. Although the species has been mentioned in the checklist of Albanian fishes pertaining to Adriatic waters previously, no supporting data were provided to confirm its occurrence. The specimen was identified based on morphological characters supported by molecular analysis. Morphological and biological data are presented herein. As information on the biology, ecology, and distribution of this species in the Mediterranean Sea remains scarce, this finding extends its known range and contributes to the growing number of rare or poorly known species recently recorded in the Adriatic Sea.