Plotosus lineatus (Thunberg 1787) —Striped eel catfish

Taxonomy. First record from Lebanon as Plotosus lineatus by Bariche et al. (2015: 2366); as Plotosus lineatus in Fanelli et al. (2015: 2169) . Material in collection: AUBM.

Distribution. Red Sea, Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, South Africa, Socotra, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mascarenes and Persian Gulf east to Samoa and Tonga, north to southern Korea, southern Japan and Ogasawara Islands, south to Rottnest Island (Western Australia), Lord Howe Island and New Caledonia; eastern Mediterranean Sea (Red Sea immigrant).

Conservation. IUCN: Global (NE). Capture and threats: Unknown. Occurrence: Very common. Significant increase in the last two decades. Non-indigenous species, no conservation action needed.