Lessepsian Migration

The Suez Canal, across which marine species migrate in the so-called Lessepsian migration

The Lessepsian migration is the migration of marine species across the Suez Canal, usually from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and, more rarely, in the opposite direction.

When the canal was completed in 1869 marine animals were exposed to a new passage between the two formerly separate bodies of water. Cross-contamination could happen between previously isolated ecosystems. This phenomenon is still occurring today. It is named after Ferdinand de Lesseps, the France diplomat in charge of the canal's construction.

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  (Trumpet Fish)

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  (Moray Eel)

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  (Mackerel)

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  (Yellowstripe Goatfish)