First record of the exotic caprellid amphipod Paracaprella pusilla Mayer, 1890 in the eastern Mediterranean

The tropical western Atlantic caprellid Paracaprella pusilla Mayer, 1890 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae) is reported in the eastern Mediterranean for the first time. Individuals were collected in the southern coast of Israel associated with drifting colonies of the bryozoan Bugula neritina and with Bugula colonies attached to a submerged kurkar ridge. The species has been recorded previously from marinas in the western Mediterranean. This new record suggests that P. pusilla may also be present in other localities of the Mediterranean and represents the first non-native caprellid species for the coast of Israel.