We all know the common dentex, one of the best-known and most highly prized fish in the Adriatic Sea. Far less familiar, however, is its smaller relative, the large-eye dentex, a fish that fishermen and scientists have long considered a common inhabitant of our waters. A new study, published in the scientific journal Mediterranean Marine Science, has revealed that this familiar name conceals a misidentification dating back almost 150 years.
The story begins in the late 19th century, when the naturalist Juraj Kolombatović from Split was studying fish collected in the surrounding waters. Even then, he suspected that the fish other scientists had identified as the large-eye dentex (Dentex macrophthalmus) actually belonged to a different species: the Moroccan dentex (Dentex maroccanus), which at the time was believed to inhabit only the Atlantic Ocean.
Kolombatović’s interpretation was not accepted. The conclusions of internationally renowned ichthyologists of the time prevailed, including those of Austrian zoologist Franz Steindachner from Vienna. Kolombatović personally sent specimens of the fish to Steindachner for examination but was unable to convince him. As a result, the name Dentex macrophthalmus remained in scientific literature and books on Adriatic fish right up to the present day.
The new study has shown that Kolombatović was right.
Researchers examined historical fish specimens preserved in European natural history museums, analysed historical and modern scientific literature, and studied specimens and photographs of catches from Croatian and Montenegrin waters. The results confirmed that fish identified for decades in the Adriatic as Dentex macrophthalmus actually belong to Dentex maroccanus.
Members of the public, particularly recreational fishermen, also made a valuable contribution to the research by sharing photographs of their previous catches with the scientists. These photographs made it possible to identify the Moroccan dentex, demonstrating how observations made by citizens can help correct long-standing taxonomic errors.
This research highlights the importance of historical museum collections, early scientific publications, and collaboration between institutions. It also demonstrates how science continually re-examines and corrects its own conclusions. At the same time, the study confirms the remarkable observations of Juraj Kolombatović, one of Split’s most important naturalists, whose conclusions have finally received scientific confirmation almost a century and a half later.
The research was carried out in collaboration with the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien), the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, the Natural History Museum Rijeka, the Natural History Museum Split, the Croatian Natural History Museum in Zagreb, and the Institute of Marine Biology in Kotor.
